NEW DELHI: The sensational case where a Delhi Police constable was shot down and another was critically injured in Outer Delhi's Vijay Vihar area was Tuesday solved with the arrest of two suspected robbers, police said.
Police had earlier said that four persons have been nabbed including two juveniles but Joint Commissioner of Police (Northern range) R S Krishnia confirmed the arrest of only two men in the case who have been identified as Santosh alias Lucky (23) and Ved Rampal (32). The duo was arrested from Shahbad Dairy area.
Sources said that two other boys have also been picked up in the case but their age is being verified to ascertain whether they are minors or adults. Efforts are on to trace and nab the fifth accused in the case.
Police has also recovered the service pistol which was allegedly snatched from the slain constable Jagbir Singh (42) by the accused before fleeing. Two point .315 bore country-made revolvers have also been seized from the accused along with an auto rickshaw which was used in the commission of the crime.
The incident took place around 1:30 AM yesterday just a few hundred meters from the local police station when constable Jagbir and Narender were patrolling the area on a motorcycle which belonged to the former.
"The duo had intercepted an auto-rickshaw in which the five alleged burglars were moving looking for an opportunity to strike somewhere. When the policemen confronted them and tried to take them to the nearby police station they opened fire on cops and fled," said Krishnia.
While Jagbir died on the spot, Narender underwent a surgery in which the bullet was removed and he is out of danger now.
A case under relevant sections was registered and several teams including that of the Crime Branch and Special Cell were fanned out to crack the case. The case was completely blind as there was neither any clear CCTV footage available nor did anybody had any clue about the attackers or the auto-rickshaw.
However, ASI Anil Kumar and Head Constable Naresh of the Special Staff got information that some burglars who had recently been released from jail, might have committed this crime.
"We worked on this lead and after proper recce, conducted raids in Shahbad Dairy area last night and nabbed Santosh. During interrogation, he confessed to have committed the crime along with three members of his gang.
"In the meantime, the auto rickshaw which was used in the crime was also located and the driver identified as Ved Rampal (32), who had accompanied the criminals during crime, was also apprehended from the same area and the vehicle was seized," he said.
Ved Rampal used to take the auto-rickshaw on rent from its owner and instead of plying it on the streets of the national capital, he used it as a getaway vehicle during robberies committed by Santosh's gang for which he used to get a good share.
"On further verification, it has been found that Santosh is a desperate burglar having involvements in eight criminal cases including attempt to murder, robbery, arms act etc. On the day of incident, he along with his other associates was going to commit a burglary in the area and they had three country-made weapons with them," said Krishnia.
The Joint Commissioner said that the two policemen had put up a brave fight. When questioned as to why Narender could not retaliate when Rajbir was shot, he said that only Jagbir was carrying the weapon at that time.
Krishnia also informed that when the occupants of the auto rickshaw were intercepted by the policemen, they had tried to hoodwink them by showing a glass cutter and claiming that they were workers.
But the constables were not satisfied and decided to take them to the police station.
The duo then parked their bike on the spot and hung from both sides of the auto so that its occupants could not flee and directed its driver to take it to the police station to verify their identities, he said.
"After some distance, the auto stopped, when the constables asked them as to why the auto was stopped, one of the assailants pulled out a weapon and shot Jagbir Singh from point-blank range in his chest.
Singh then asked Narender to run to Vijay Vihar police station to get back up while he tried to stop them.
"As Narendra ran toward the police station, the attackers shot him from behind and tried to flee in the auto. Despite bleeding profusely, Jagbir clung on to the auto for at least 50 meters before his grip weakened and he fell down. He was also hit on the head by the assailants with the but of their revolver," he said.
When Narender returned to the spot with force, Jagbir was found lying in a pool of blood while his service pistol and mobile phone was missing. They immediately took him to a nearby government hospital where he was declared brought dead.
Narender was also admitted in the same hospital from where he was shifted to another hospital where the bullet was removed in a surgery, said Krishnia.
Assessment is being made so as to determine how much compensation will be given to the family of the slain constable, he said.
Jagbir had served in the Indian Army for 15 years and had joined Delhi Police in 2008.