Were not formally informed about raid: Ghaziabad police

A late-night raid by Noida police in Ghaziabad's Nahal village ended in tragedy on Sunday, when constable Saurabh Kumar was shot dead — allegedly by a hostile mob — exposing apparent gaps in coordination between the police forces of Gautam Budh Nagar and Ghaziabad, investigators aware of the case details said on Monday.

- Peeyush Khandelwal and Arun Singh

GHAZIABAD/NOIDA:

The seven-member team from Noida, comprising three sub-inspectors and four constables, entered Nahal village around 11 pm on Sunday to arrest a man named 29-year-old Qadir, a known habitual offender wanted in a recent case of car parts theft. The FIR mentioned an unidentified person as a suspect.

Ghaziabad police officials said that the operation was carried out without any formal intimation to the local police station in whose jurisdiction the raid was being conducted.

According to Gautam Budh Nagar police officers, only one of the officers in the raiding team was in uniform, and he remained in the police vehicle. The rest, including constable Kumar, were in plainclothes and rode into the narrow lanes of the village on motorcycles, reportedly on the advice of an informer.

The tip-off, the FIR stated, had flagged to the team that Nahal was known to shelter criminal elements and could be dangerous.