Shopkeeper shot at for objecting to man’s smoking, 3 held

A shopkeeper was shot at his knee for objecting to a man, who was smoking outside his building, in South Delhi’s Zakir Nagar on March 28

A shopkeeper was shot at his knee for objecting to a man, who was smoking outside his building, in South Delhi’s Zakir Nagar on March 28. Police on Friday evening arrested the key suspect and his two associates when they were on their way to meet the victim and pressurise him to withdraw the complaint registered against them, said police.

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Police said the three men shot twice at Mohammad Ahmad (28), who sustained an injury on his knee and will survive.

Ahmad lives with his family in Zakir Nagar and runs a general store on the ground floor of his building.

On March 28, he noticed a young man, later identified as Salman alias Pollard, smoking right outside his building. “There was a heated exchange between them when Ahmad asked Salman to not smoke outside his building. Salman left, but soon returned with two men, Yasir and Danish,” said R P Meena, deputy commissioner of police (south-east).

According to the DCP, Yasir and Danish are close associates of an alleged notorious gang leader, Taslimullah Khan, who has been on the run for a while. The duo is allegedly involved in murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping and arms cases, said police.

Soon after the firings, the suspects fled the spot while Ahmad was rushed to AIIMS trauma centre in a PCR van.

Subsequently, the police registered an attempt to murder case and scanned CCTV footage to identify the suspects. Police received information that the suspects fled to Darbhanga in Bihar to escape arrest.

“We arrested them after receiving a tip-off that they were on their way to visit Ahmad to ask him to withdraw his case,” said the DCP.