Suspect urged associate to shoot cop in the head, say Gurugram police

The associate allegedly opened fire with a countrymade pistol at close range, injuring both Shankar and the first suspect in the leg. Shankar, however, did not let go of the first suspect, who then tried to instigate the other man to shoot Shankar in the head

A suspected snatcher who allegedly shot a constable near Galleria Market in Sector 28, Gurugram, on Saturday night, nearly shot the policeman in the head after shooting him in the leg, after his associate, who had been overpowered, egged him on, said police on Sunday.

Deputy commissioner of police (east) Virender Vij said that both men were snatchers and the police in the area were on alert to arrest them. (Representative image)

Police said Gauri Shankar and assistant sub-inspector Krishna Kumar, were patrolling the area in a police vehicle around 9.30pm when Shankar spotted the two suspects on a motorcycle. Deputy commissioner of police (east) Virender Vij said that both men were snatchers and the police in the area were on alert to arrest them. Several police stations had received the CCTV footage grab of both the suspects, which enabled Shankar to identify them on Saturday night.

Shankar got out of the vehicle and asked the duo to stop but they tried to flee.

Shankar chased the motorcycle and managed to grab hold of the pillion, making both men topple over. He overpowered one of them as the other one tried to flee. However, the one who was caught asked his associate to shoot at Shankar. The associate then allegedly opened fire with a countrymade pistol at close range, injuring both Shankar and the first suspect in the leg. Shankar, however, did not let go of the first suspect, who then tried to instigate the other man to shoot Shankar in the head. Shankar then let go of the first suspect and both men fled on foot. Police said Shankar and the ASI were unarmed at the time and thus could not retaliate.

Police said they recovered a few empty cartridges, a bag containing tools to break locks and the jacket of the suspect whom the constable had caught, were recovered from the spot. Police said the suspects had stolen the motorcycle they left behind from in front of a house in Sushant Lok 1 on April 13 .

According to the police, the duo was involved in multiple chain snatching incidents in Sushant Lok 1, Sector 28, Sector 29 and nearby areas in the past two months.

Inspector Anil Pal, station house officer of DLF Sector 29 police station, said the investigation is on.