Man shot for trying to nab robber

Seven-year-old among two injured in shootout

A 45-year-old man was shot dead and his neighbour was injured in broad daylight while trying to stop robbers who were fleeing after looting a shop behind Zakir Husain Delhi College in central Delhi, police said.

The incident took place at 11:30 am. Five armed men arrived at a bangle shop, which was on the fourth floor, owned by Mohammad Shakil.

They locked the shop from inside and held Shakil and his six employees hostage at gunpoint and looted about Rs 1 lakh.

When they were fleeing Shakil raised an alarm. Mohammad Sultan and Mohammad Nawab, 60, who were walking in the lane, overpowered one of the robbers.

His  accomplices fired two bullets at Nawab, which hit his hand. Sultan while trying to save Nawab got shot in forehead. The assailants fired bullets in air to scare the residents. A seven-year-old boy was injured in the firing.

Leaving them in a pool of blood all the accused fled from the spot with the looted amount.
The local residents rushed the victims to Lok Nayak Hospital where Sultan was declared brought dead. Nawab and the kid is undergoing treatment, said a senior police officer.

The locals alleged that this was the fourth incident of shooting in their area. They alleged involvement of some extortionists behind these incidents.

Sultan’s brother, Hasim Mohammad alleged that the actual motive of the assailants was to kill his brother because he was a witness in a murder case of their younger brother Danish.

Police said Danish had a criminal background, who was shot in 2010 and Sultan was a witness in the case against Aashu gang.

“Now they have shot my other brother also. I can identify two of them as Fahad and Asif. The robbery was just a trick they played to mislead police,” said Hasim.