Policeman shot at by robbers in Preet Vihar

NEW DELHI: A 57-year-old Delhi Police assistant sub-inspector (ASI) was allegedly shot at when he tried to stop a robbery attempt in east Delhi’s Preet Vihar early Friday.

ASI Lokesh was patrolling Preet Vihar in a police car with a homeguard when around 2 am, he received a call about six to seven men entering the house of one Himanshu Jain to commit a dacoity, deputy commissioner of police (East) Pankaj Singh said.

The suspects were cutting the iron grille of a window to enter the house when a neighbour saw them and raised an alarm. ASI Lokesh reached there and found some men hiding in the corridor of the house. “Lokesh asked them to surrender. The men tried to flee but he caught one of them. The other men returned when they saw their associate in Lokesh’s custody. One of them fired a bullet that hit Lokesh in his left arm,” Singh said.

Lokesh lost his grip on the man and he fled with his associates. In the meantime, another police van arrived. Lokesh and other cops fired at the suspects but they missed and the suspects managed to flee. Lokesh, who suffered a bullet injury on his left shoulder, was out of danger, police said.

Himanshu’s brother Amit Jain said, “The area outside my brother’s home is dark at night as street lights do not work. The robbers had disconnected the power supply to my brother’s home.”