Irked by Swachhta song, man shoots sanitation staff in Ghaziabad; arrested

The incident took place around 7.30 am Sunday, when a waste collection vehicle was passing the suspect’s house.

The Ghaziabad police on Sunday arrested a 48-year-old man for allegedly opening fire at two sanitation workers attached with Loni Nagar Palika’s door-to-door waste collection vehicle, police said, adding that both the workers were left unharmed.

Ghaziabad Sanitation workers creating gathered at Loni police station. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

According to police, the suspect was annoyed by the Swachhta jingle from the loudspeakers of the vehicle, which disturbed his sleep.

The suspect, identified as Tauheed Ali, a retired Border Security Force (BSF) personnel residing in Kanchan Park, has been booked under Section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The incident took place around 7.30 am, when a waste collection vehicle was passing the suspect’s house. The vehicle had two cleaning staff members, identified as Rohit Kumar, and his co-driver, Raj Kumar, said police.

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Rohit said, “He threatened to kill us and also behaved aggressively towards other residents. After two shots missed us, we fled, leaving the vehicle behind.” Raj added, “Although he had previously asked us not to play the song, today he unexpectedly opened fire at us with the intention to kill. Thankfully, his shots missed us. One of the bullets narrowly missed my co-driver’s head, but he managed to avoid injury by ducking.”

Rajneesh Kumar Upadhyaya, ACP (Loni) said, police have registered an FIR against the suspect.

“The suspect used his licenced revolver in the attack. After his arrest, we will also recommend revoking his arms licence. He retired from the BSF and claimed that the sound from the waste collection vehicle disturbed his sleep and made him angry,” ACP Upadhyaya added.