One man killed after a chase, shooting and hostage scare
GANG WAR SUSPECTED Four gunmen shoot dead a property dealer, and wounded his associate in Brahampuri
NEW DELHI: A man was killed and his associate critically injured in public view by four unidentified assailants who chased them down the lanes of northeast Delhi’s Brahampuri and into a house, firing indiscriminately, late on Sunday evening.
The four suspects remain absconding, but police said on Monday a “gang war” was one of the angles they were looking into after locals alleged the same.
The victims, property dealers identified by police as 35-year-old Wajid and 29-year-old Faiz, had criminal records and disputes with long-standing rivals, investigators added.
The shooting, which left Wajid dead and Faiz critically injured, happened hours before a similar crime took place in the neighbouring Maujpur where a young man was shot dead. Police said close to 50 rounds were fired by assailants in the two cases put together, and an investigation has been launched to see if the incidents were linked.
Eyewitnesses said that in the Brahmapuri shooting, the duo was waylaid before the attackers opened fire on them around 9.30pm. The two had shut their shop in Brahampuri’s Gali No 12 and were returning home on a two-wheeler when they were stopped by the four men on two motorcycles waiting for them.
“This was outside Gali No 10. The shooters stopped their twowheeler and opened fire. Three bullets hit Faiz, and he dropped there. Despite his injury, Wajid abandoned his vehicle and started running as the assailants chased him,” said a policeman.
As they were chasing Wajid, the men kept trying to gun him down. Wajid entered Gali No 7 and the attackers followed.
While most residents, scared by the shooting, locked themselves inside their homes, Wajid found a door in a house open and rushed inside. Three of the attackers followed him inside the house, while one waited outside.
Police said three families lived in the house.
Kusum, a housewife in her 50s, who was present inside with her
THE ATTACKERS CHASED ONE OF THE VICTIMS INSIDE A HOUSE AFTER WHICH THE RESIDENTS OF THE HOUSE LOCKED THEMSELVES IN A ROOM
three children and daughter-inlaw, said the family found itself in a hostage-like situation.
“We were having dinner and were oblivious of what was happening outside. The man who came first was injured and was panicking. He ran to the firstfloor and three armed men followed him. We were really scared when they demanded that the man they were chasing be brought out. We locked ourselves in one of the rooms or we would have been killed,” said Kusum.
The men, meanwhile, continued their search and followed their target to the first floor. In an attempt to escape, Wajid jumped down from the first floor and into the path of the fourth attacker waiting outside. The fourth attacker shot several rounds at Wajid, killing him.
Kusum’s son called the police helpline, but the suspects had fled by the time a police team arrived.
Meanwhile, Faiz, who sustained bullet injuries on his foot, thigh and chest, was taken to a hospital by locals. Neighbours said that Wajid was involved in a “gang war,” a charge that denied by the victim’s friend Shakeel.
Deputy commissioner of police (north east) AK Singla said that Wajid had previous criminal records including alleged involvement in murder, attempt to murder and robbery, but added that the last registered case against him dates to 2006.
About the claims made by locals of the incident being a “gang war”, he said these allegations were also being looked into. NEWDELHI: In an apparent dispute over a food bill, a group of men created a ruckus in an eatery and even indulged in firing in north Delhi’s Inderlok on Sunday evening.
Although no one was injured in the firing, police said the eatery’s property was vandalised. Police said that the dispute originally broke out after a customer complained that the food bill was high. Police have arrested a father-son duo in connection with the incident.
Sameer, 18, had come to the eatery, Netaji Chicken Centre, to get food packed. Mohammad Salman, a worker at the shop, said that after the food was handed over, Sameer was presented with a bill of ₹3,500, which he claimed was too high. An argument broke out between Salman and Sameer, after which the latter stormed out of the shop.
Sameer returned sometime later, accompanied with a group comprising family members and friends. They started damaging the property of the eatery as they dislodged the chairs and tossed utensils around. It is further alleged that they took out a gun fired opened fire, though none was injured in the alleged firing. The incident was captured on a CCTV camera. On Salman’s complaint, a case of attempt to murder was registered. Sameer and his father Mohammad Naazir have been arrested. Efforts are on to trace the other accused, police said.