‘I’ll be back in an hour’

When Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma knocked on the door of building L-18 in Jamia Nagar shortly after 11 am on Friday morning, he was coming from a hospital, reports Tushar Srivastava.

When Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma knocked on the door of building L-18 in Jamia Nagar shortly after 11 am on Friday morning, he was coming from a hospital. His son was down with suspected dengue. The inspector, who had gone to see him, went into the operation in a hurry, telling HT: “I have to rush… I’ll be back in an hour. We have some good leads. Pray for us. We have to get the right men and bring this (bombings) to a stop.” The time was around 10.15.

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Little more than an hour later, he was in a hospital, lying critically injured with three bullet wounds. One bullet had lodged in his abdomen while two others tore through his thigh and hand. In his hurry to get from hospital to operation, the man who had shot dead 75 criminals and terrorists had neglected to wear the bulletproof vest that might have saved his life.

Sharma was the first to enter the apartment where five suspected militants were holed up. He was shot thrice and fell unconscious — but not before he had shot dead two of his assailants.

“He was one of the most highly decorated officers in the country with a President’s Police Medal, and six gallantry medals including a gold bar,” Commissioner YS Dadwal said. Joint Commissioner Karnal Singh said, “He was the best investigator in the force. His detection and analysis were excellent. It is a great loss for us.”