28-yr-old shot at, CCTV captures attackers in wait

It was a well-planned attack on a 28-year-old man in the narrow bylanes of old Delhi but a CCTV camera installed outside a shop has provided a crucial lead to the police. Faizan Haider reports.

It was a well-planned attack on a 28-year-old man in the narrow bylanes of old Delhi but a CCTV camera installed outside a shop has provided a crucial lead to the police.

HT Image

However, seconds before firing bullets at the victim, the accused went out of the frame and the camera could not capture the incident. The attackers, who were on a bike, had conduced a recce of the area and had parked their bike outside a mobile store in Chandni Mahal while waiting for the victim, Mohammad Shahid.

On Thursday night at 11.15pm, Shahid, a resident of Chandni Mahal, was returning to his house from a nearby masjid when two assailants fired bullets at him. “As he reached the house, two men, who were waiting for him for over an hour, fired bullets at him and fled,” Mukhtar Ahmad, victim’s father said.

During the attack, Shahid, a businessman, faced injuries at his abdomen and was rushed to LNJP Hospital by the residents. “We don’t know the reason behind the attack. His condition is critical but stable,” said Ahmad, alleging that the youths who fired bullets at him were seen making rounds of the area from the past two to three days.

“They were enquiring about Shahid. I asked my son as to why they were asking about him. He said he doesn’t have any dispute with anyone,” he added. According to the yewitnesses, the attackers were waiting for Shahid for over an hour. “They had parked their bike in front of a closed shop and were continuously on phone with someone who was probably helping them identify Shahid. As soon as he came, one of the assailants disconnected the phone and fired at Shahid,” an eyewitness said.

The police have collected the CCTV footage from the camera installed at a nearby shop. Sources said that the assailants had probably got to know about the camera and had moved outside its reach seconds before Shahid arrived.

“We have the footage of the accused waiting for Shahid. But minutes before he reached his house, they moved from where they were standing,” a police officer said.