Bullet meant for Delhi cop kills 50-yr-old daily wager

The DCP said the murder took place around 11.30pm when constable Ajay, posted at the Nand Nagri police station, was patrolling on his motorcycle. He was accompanied by two civil defence personnel.

A bullet meant for a policeman who was checking four “suspicious looking” men in a car in Delhi’s Nand Nagri late Monday night killed a 50-year-old daily wager walking home with his nephew, the police said.

A bullet meant for a policeman who was checking four “suspicious looking” men in a car in Delhi’s Nand Nagri late Monday night killed a 50-year-old daily wager walking home with his nephew, the police said. (Shutterstock Image)

DCP (north-east) Atul Kumar Thakur said the policeman chased the suspects on foot after the murder and managed to snatch the pistol, but the suspects escaped, only to be apprehended later. “The four men left their car and ran. While we haven’t been able to trace the car’s owner, some SIM cards found inside the vehicle helped us identify the suspects. We apprehended three of them, but are yet to formally arrest them,” the DCP said.

The officer identified the deceased as one Raju, a resident of Harsh Vihar in east Delhi. He lived with his nephew, Manoj. Both worked as daily wagers.

The DCP said the murder took place around 11.30pm when constable Ajay, posted at the Nand Nagri police station, was patrolling on his motorcycle. He was accompanied by two civil defence personnel. “As he passed by the Tanga Stand in Nand Nagri, he noticed four men in a car with a private registration number plate. Finding their behaviour suspicious, he asked them to step out of the car. As the men were stepping out, Ajay noticed a pistol tucked into the driver’s pants. When Ajay confronted the gun-wielding man, the four suspects ran. Ajay chased them, but the man with the gun fired two rounds at him. While the constable escaped unhurt, one bullet hit a passerby in the chest and killed him on the spot,” the DCP said.

“Ajay and the two civil defence personnel chased the suspects for nearly 50 metres before the constable managed to catch hold of the person who had fired the shots. He managed to snatch the pistol, but the other three suspects managed to free the killer from the policeman’s hold and escape,” the officer said.

The DCP said the abandoned car was found to have been sold thrice and was currently being used by one Mukarram, a man with a criminal history who lives in Pasonda, Ghaziabad. Mukarram is on the run, the officer said.

The police said some SIM cards found in the car helped identify one of the suspects. “The victim’s nephew identified another suspect after we showed him a dossier of men with criminal histories,” the DCP said, adding that the identified suspect is a robber.