Police, robbers open fire at wedding venue

Suspected robbers attending a wedding in north Delhi’s Keshavpuram fired over a dozen rounds at a police team in north Delhi’s Britannia Chowk on Monday night.

Though the bullets missed their mark, one constable was injured when the wedding party joined the attack on the police team with sticks.

Police also fired about half a dozen rounds in the air in retaliation and managed to nab two alleged robbers on the spot.

One of the two arrested suspects turned out to be wanted for murders and other robberies. Two other men suspected to be involved in the robbery are still on the run.
The robbers had earlier in the day waylaid two employees of a private company and robbed them of Rs 22 lakh in cash belonging to the company. Police have recovered Rs 21.5 lakh.

Victims Sunit and Lalit were travelling on a motorcycle with the cash when they were waylaid by four men in a car in Keshavpuram at 5.10 pm on Monday. Sunil, who was riding the motorcycle, was pulled into the car since the cash was in his possession.
The pillion rider was beaten up but he managed to escape. Sunil was then thrashed in the car and dumped at an isolated place a few minutes later.

Police at Keshavpuram were informed and a team set up to investigate the robbery.
The role of a company insider was suspected and investigations led police to suspect Sunil, 26.

He was found having specific knowledge of the money transactions the employer indulged in, police said on Wednesday.

A background check on him led police to learn that he urgently needed money to construct a house and was in touch with some suspicious elements in north Delhi’s Rithala.

Sunil was soon nabbed and he revealed the identities of the four robbers involved in the incident. The mastermind was Kuldeep Singh Rithalia, an alleged criminal.

He was learnt to be attending a wedding in Britannia Chowk that very evening.
A police team arrived at the wedding venue and asked Kuldeep to surrender, but he and his accomplices fired several rounds at the policemen.

Their family members attending the wedding attacked them with sticks, police said.
Police said they were forced to fire in the air as shooting at the suspects could have led to loss of innocent lives.

Kuldeep and his accomplice were nabbed at the spot.