Cop’s pistol gets stuck, gangster escapes

NEW DELHI: An automatic Glock 9mm pistol that didn’t fire on time aided the escape of a gangster from Delhi Police custody in Haryana’s Bahadurgarh on July 30.

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The bullet was stuck in the pistol’s chamber when a police officer opened fire at armed men who had come to free the gangster.

The police have ordered an inquiry into the prisoner’s escape and why the pistol did not work.

Four Delhi Police officers escorting gangster Jitender alias Gogi in an interstate bus from Kashmere Gate to a Haryana court were attacked by Gogi’s gang members on the outskirts of Bahadurgarh on July 30 morning.

Four men posing as passengers had boarded the bus before it reached Bahadurgarh. At 6am, when the bus reached Bahadurgarh, 10 armed men in two cars stopped it.

A cop fired at the men but the bullet got stuck. The gangsters threw chilli powder at the policemen, freed Gogi, and fled with another officer’s MP5 rifle.

The police have arrested four men, including an international-level boxer, a national games gold medal winner athlete and two more persons. One man, Sanjay alias Falla, was arrested on Monday, from GT Karnal Road.

The third battalion cops, the unit in charge of transporting prisoners, told their seniors that they could not take Gogi in a secure police van as the Tihar Jail authorities had not put his name in high-risk prisoner category.

Sources said no one at the Bahadurgarh police station could dislodge the bullet stuck in the chamber. It was later removed at the armoury of the 3rd battalion’s headquarters in Vikaspuri.

“A Glock 9mm pistol is automatic. We will review all other weapons because our officers escort high-risk prisoners. This cannot happen again,” said a senior officer.

The Glock pistol can fire 15 bullets at one go and is one of the most commonly used weapons by field officers and the crime branch.

The Glocks replaced the old revolvers and regular 9mm pistols, which could accommodate only six and 10 bullets.

Gogi, a resident of Alipur, has committed over 15 cases of murder, robbery and dacoity. In the past year, at least five men died in gang wars between the Gogi and Tillu groups.

Gogi carried a reward of ` 2 lakh on his arrest.