Kidnapper kills accomplice

Gang member shot in botched abduction attempt

A criminal was killed after he was accidentally shot in the head by an accomplice when they were trying to kidnap a businessman in outer Delhi’s Narela on Tuesday.

The bullet was fired at the businessman, who resisted from being forced into a Maruti Eeco car by four kidnappers, police said. 

The deceased has been identified as Praveen Kumar, who hailed from Haryana’s Sonipat and was living in Swatantra Nagar near Narela.

According to police, Praveen was a notorious criminal and was listed as a bad character with Narela police station.

Police have identified the other three criminals involved in the abduction bid, but have not been able to identify the car.

“The criminals had covered the car’s number plates with mud,” said a police officer.The incident took place at around 8 am on Lampur Road, where 42-year-old businessman Ramesh runs a sanitary and hardware shop.

Ramesh was outside the shop when the four men arrived there.

While one of them remained seated on the driver’s seat, the other three criminal who covered their faces with cloth, got down from the vehicle and overpowered Ramesh.

“The businessman, however, resisted and screamed for help. At this, one of the kidnappers whipped out a pistol and opened fire to scare him,” the officer added.As the bullet was fired, Ramesh ducked and the bullet hit Praveen in the head.

Praveen collapsed on the road after which his three accomplices got worried.

Local rush to help

In the meantime, locals and Ramesh’s employees rushed for his help and seeing them coming towards them, the three criminals fled in the car.

Ramesh informed police. Praveen was declared brought dead at Satyawadi Raja Harish Chander Hospital.

An initial probe has revealed that Ramesh had received a threat call around a year ago. Since there was only one threatening call, Ramesh took it casually and did not report it to police.