Delhi: Man sneaks a gun into Metro, shoots self at Rajiv Chowk

In a major security lapse ahead of the festival season, a 22-year-old man managed to sneak a gun into a Metro train and shot himself at the busy Rajiv Chowk station in Delhi late Thursday night.

In a major security lapse ahead of the festival season, a 22-year-old man managed to sneak a gun into a Metro train and shot himself at the busy Rajiv Chowk station in Delhi late Thursday night.

A man got down at Rajiv Chowk, moved towards the exit at Platform 3 and shot himself on the shoulder near a ticket counter. (HT File Photo)

The security scare comes barely two days after intelligence agencies warned of a possible Islamic State terror strike in the Capital.

A resident of Fatehpur in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, Shibesh Adhikari was carrying a country-made pistol that went unnoticed during the security check at Chandni Chowk.

Initial reports said he got down at Rajiv Chowk, moved towards the exit at Platform 3 and shot himself on the shoulder near a ticket counter, said a CISF official, the force responsible for the security of Metro.

“We are scanning the CCTV footage to confirm the sequence of events,” he said. Adhikari, who was taken to a hospital and is stable, did not target any passenger.

Adhikari arrived in the Capital a few days ago, “His father is recouping at the Apollo hospital after a bypass procedure. He used a country-made pistol. We are probing why he shot himself,” said Metro deputy commissioner of police Jitender Mani.

The CISF has ordered an inquiry to look into the security lapse.

Rajiv Chowk is one of the busiest Metro stations that handles around 200,000 passengers every day. Around 4,000 Central Industrial Security Force personnel are deployed at 180 stations of the Metro network that carries three million commuters daily.