Cattle thieves held for attack on police teams

Two members of a gang of cattle thieves have been arrested for an attack on a Delhi Police PCR van last year. On Wednesday evening, the armed men tried to open fire when they were surrounded by a police team in south Delhi.

Sabir Ali, 30, and Javed, 28, who hail from Haryana’s Faridabad district, were nabbed from Govindpuri.

Police said they were informed that Sabir and Javed were cattle thieves from Mewat, Haryana. Their gang was involved in the attack on a PCR team in south Delhi’s Khanpur in September 2015.

“The PCR staff had a miraculous escape when the gang members opened fire. They had also pelted stones at the van as a result of which the windscreen of the vehicle was shattered,” said a police officer.

The chase proved futile as the gang members had managed to escape. They usually travel in a Tata 407 mini-truck without registration number.

On Wednesday, police got a tip-off that the gang would visit the capital again for cattle theft in outer Delhi. They were warned that the gang members would be carrying country-made pistols.

At 6.30 pm, their mini-truck was spotted in Govindpuri. “Sabir and Javed were identified by an informer. They, however, tried to flee despite being surrounded by our team,” the officer added.

Sabir and Javed then whipped out their pistols, but were overpowered before they could open fire.

They were arrested and a case under the Arms Act filed with the special cell police station. The investigators are questioning them to nab their accomplices and identify the source of their firearms.In the past couple of years, policemen have even lost their lives while chasing members of Mewati gangs.According to police, they have intensified vigil at border pickets and instructions have been given to the staff to check and verify all Tata 407 mini-trucks entering the capital.