New Delhi: Two motorcycle-borne men went
on a snatching spree scaring people by opening fire in East
Delhi this afternoon but one of them was caught after the
fourth case when police and public chased them.
Two persons, including a Head Constable, were shot at
by the snatchers in different areas. One of them, Salim,
who came out of jail on March 26 and is involved in 22 cases,
was caught with the help of public.
The snatching spree started at around 1 pm on the
Gandhinagar-Pushta Road when Devendar and his wife, who were
on a motorcycle, were waylaid.
They opened fire in air and snatched the purse from
woman`s hand and fled the scene. Their next stop was a cold
drinks shop in Trilokpuri where they shot at one Momin and
snatched his bag.
"They saw Momin and said let us shoot him. Then they
pulled out a pistol and fired on his leg," a senior police
official said.
Their next target was Anju Sethi in front of Mayur
Vihar Phase-one metro station. The incident took place at
around 2:15 pm.
Sethi, a resident of Pandav Nagar, was on a rickshaw
along with another woman when duo waylaid them.
"The snatchers brandished firearms to scare the two
women and opened fire in air. Then they snatched the chain of
Sethi. The women were outside the Metro station and were to
catch a train," the official said.
Soon after snatching the chain, the motorcyclists fled
from the scene.
However, the chain was recovered from the rickshaw.
From there, they went towards ISBT Kashmiri Gate and on way
waylaid one Saurav and his pillion rider a woman. They
snatched her purse.
However, Saurav chased the duo while on way near Gita
Colony cemetery. He met head constable Azad Veer, who was on a
government motorcycle and in plainclothes.
Veer chased the snatchers and when he was about to
confront them the snatchers opened fire on him.
Two bullets hit his right leg and one on the left leg.
Public immediately informed the police and two constables
Ramesh and Pramod, armed with an SLR and a lathi, chased them.
The duo went inside a narrow lane in a bid to escape.
However, one of them, identified as Omar, managed to escape
while Salim was caught with the help of public.
Monu, a teenager, snatched the pistol from Salim while
the constables and public catched him. A 7.56 mm pistol was
recovered from him.
Salim hails from Bareilly and presently resides in
Seelampur. The motorcycle used by the snatchers was found to
be bearing a fake registration number. The two-wheeler was
stolen from Bhajanpura area.
Police have declared a reward of Rs 50,000 to Veer and
Rs 25,000 each to Ramesh, Pramod, Monu, Saurav and a woman.
PTI
