NEW DELHI: Three men were arrested early Saturday after a brief exchange of fire in Delhi’s Nangloi area. They had fired at police on Wednesday and escaped while the police were trying to nab them, officials said.
The accused have been identified as Firoz alias Sajid (38), Mohammad Kamran alias Shahrukh (32), and Osaf Ali (48), all residents of Loni in Ghaziabad, they said.
The incident took place on Wednesday, around 3.25 am, when a patrolling team of the Nangloi police station saw a grey car with three to four people attempting to burglarise a hardware shop.
When they were challenged, the suspects fled in the car. The police team chased them. After chasing for over five kilometres, the patrolling team warned the occupants to stop, a senior police officer said.
However, one of the accused opened fire on the police near the Mangolpuri flyover. Police also fired two rounds, during which one bullet hit the car, forcing the suspects to abandon the vehicle and escape even while firing at the police team.
A case was registered and an investigation was initiated. Police identified the accused involved in the incident.
In the early hours of Saturday, police got a tip-off that a few suspicious person were roaming on a motorcycle with weapons near Kirari Mor.
Immediately, all night patrolling staff, the emergency response vehicle and emergency staff were directed to look for suspects.
Around 3.35 am, police spotted the suspects near Prem Nagar Crossing.
When asked to stop for verification, they attempted to flee. However, their motorcycle skidded, and they opened indiscriminate fire on the police.
In the firing, sub-inspector Yogender and head constable Vikas Kumar were hit on their bulletproof jackets. Police also fired back, resulting in injuries in their legs, Deputy Commissioner of Police (outer) Sachin Sharma said.
The injured accused people were identified as the same people involved in the firing incident on Wednesday.
All injured accused and police officials were immediately shifted to SGM Hospital, Mangolpuri, where they are undergoing treatment, Sharma said.
The crime and FSL teams have visited the spot and police recovered one country-made pistol, one empty cartridge from Ali, one pistol with two live and two empty cartridges from Kamran, and Firoz had a pistol with two live and two empty cartridges.
Firoz was previously involved in multiple criminal cases, including dacoity, kidnapping for ransom and the Arms Act.
In 2017, while fleeing after committing dacoity, he fired at the police.
Kamran also has a history of involvement in criminal cases across Delhi, including robberies, snatching, and obstruction to public servant.
Ali was also involved in criminal cases in the past, police added.
