Robbers hold the city to ransom

The incident in Janakpuri, where a software engineer was reportedly knifed to death in a snatching attempt, is one amongst many others within 24 hours in the Capital.

The incident in Janakpuri, where a software engineer was reportedly knifed to death in a snatching attempt, was not the only one reported in the past 24 hours.

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Armed robbers created havoc in the city, leaving one dead and another critically injured in two separate robberies. In a third case, a family was held at gunpoint at their east Delhi house and robbed of cash and jewellery worth nearly Rs 5 lakh, the police said.

Four unidentified men reportedly stabbed a 40-year-old jeweller to death at the crowded Sadar Bazaar railway station at 2 pm on Wednesday. The deceased, identified as Ram Prakash, was a resident of Jind, Haryana. He in Delhi to buy jewellery from Chandni Chowk.

Prakash reached Delhi on Ferozepur Janta Express, and was going towards the main road when the four men reportedly attacked him. “The assa-ilants were trying to snatch a bag from him. When he resisted, he was stabbed four times,” said Bhairon Singh Gurjar Additional Deputy Commis-sioner of Police (railways).

Prakash was taken to Bara Hindu Rao Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.

Just less than two km away, unidentified bikers shot at a scooterist near Ajmeri Gate Chowk. A policeman, who was patrolling in the area, opened fire at the alleged robbers but they managed to escape.

The victim, identified as Kuldeep (29), is an employee with a tour and travel firm. He was on his way to Chandni Chowk when the armed men attacked him.

“Kuldeep had stopped by a water vendor on his scooter. Two men on a motorcycle shot at him and fled the scene. Hearing the gunshot, the beat constable chased them and also opened fire but they managed to escape. He could not fire any more, as it was a crowded area,” said Jaspal Singh, Deputy Com-missioner of Police (central).

Police said he is out of danger and recuperating at LNJP Hospital and a case of attempt to murder has been registered.

At 3.30 pm in Anand Vihar, five masked men, armed with country-made pistols and sharp-edged weapons, barged into a double-storey house of a chartered accountant and decamped with cash and jewellery. The men held the family of six for nearly 90 minutes, before ransacking the house of cash and valuables.