Armed robbers strike in North Delhi market, one dead

Chaos reined the Bara Hindu Rao market in North Delhi on Saturday morning as armed robbers struck. Nilesh Jain, a brass component wholesaler from Pitampura, had just reached his shop when his throat was pierced with a bullet, reports Jatin Anand

Forty-year-old Nilesh Jain stepped out on the second floor balcony of his shop after hearing some noise out on the street. Within seconds, a bullet pierced his throat and he died on way to hospital.

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Chaos reined the Bara Hindu Rao market in North Delhi on Saturday morning as armed robbers struck.

Jain, a brass component wholesaler from Pitampura, had just reached his shop when he heard the first gunshots.

“We had just gone through the daily routine of cleaning the shop when we heard some shots and went to the balcony to see what had happened,” said Inam Singh (32), a worker at Jain’s shop on Bhadurgarh Road.

Shankar Jha (28), another worker who had accompanied Jain to the balcony, said, “As soon as we stepped onto the balcony, he (Jain) fell and started bleeding. A bullet had hit him.”

Father to 16-year-old Neha and her 14-year-old brother, Jain succumbed to the bullet wound on way to Sir Gangaram Hospital on Pusa Road.

The four bike-borne assailants, who attempted to snatch Rs 50,000 from two traders in the market, ended up killing one man and injuring two others.

They had started firing when the local traders had started chasing them. The hurricane of bullets the assailants sprayed around themselves in a bid to intimidate onlookers injured two daily wage workers — Chulhai Rai (32) and Chander Yadav (22). Both the victims are from Madhubani district in Bihar.

“We were sitting on a cart on the opposite side of the road. Eight of us were resting when we heard the gunshots,” said Rai. “Even before we could understand what was going on, I felt a sting of pain in my thigh and realised that I had been shot.”

Yadav was shot in the stomach. Both of them were rushed to the nearby Bara Hindu Rao Hospital.

This is the second incident of motorcycle borne robbers targeting businessmen in the Capital. Delhi has witnessed over 800 similar cases this year, with snatching topping the list with 760 cases.