50-year-old shot dead trying to stop robbers in Seelampur

A 50-year-old man was shot dead while trying to stop three men from fleeing after robbing an elderly woman.

Suraj Prakash, father of five, lived in north east Delhi’s Old Seemapuri area.

Police said the incident took place a little past midnight on Tuesday.

Three men in a motorcycle had barged inside the house of a 70-year-old woman in Old Seelampur. The woman lives in the C block of Old Seelampur, opposite Suraj’s house.

When the woman and her family members resisted, the attackers fired a gunshot in the air outside their house in the air to threaten her. Suraj’s family members told police that Suraj stepped out on hearing the shot and the woman’s cries.

“When Suraj stepped out, the bikers had started their bike and were fleeing. They were also carrying a bag, belonging to the woman. He raised an alarm. He asked neighbours to stop them but no one came to his rescue. They shot him in his chest before fleeing the scene,” an officer said.

Locals rushed Suraj to the nearby GTB hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead. Following the incident, senior police officer, including the district DCP reached the spot and assured family members they would arrest the gunmen. The elderly woman’s family members told police that the three gunmen had fled with around ₹15,000.

A source said that police suspect one of the gunmen is known to the woman.

The woman rents the ground floor of her house to a group of locals who allegedly use it to host “parties”.

“We are probing all angles. We have accessed CCTV footage of all the local shops in C block and are trying to identify the gunmen,” said a senior police office.

Suraj worked as a driver. He is survived by his wife, Rajmala, four sons and a daughter.

Police have registered a murder case and are looking at CCTV footage to identify the robbers.