Noida cop shot dead in Gzb during raid to arrest a thief

A 28-year-old police constable from Gautam Budh Nagar was shot dead late Sunday night during a raid by a seven-member police team in Ghaziabad's Nahal village to arrest a suspect in a case of theft of car parts, officials said on Monday.

- Peeyush Khandelwal

GHAZIABAD:

Gautam Budh Nagar police, in their first information report (FIR), said that their team was "surrounded" by a mob late that opened "indiscriminate fire" on them at around 11 pm on Sunday as they were taking the accused into custody.

Hours later, on Monday evening, Ghaziabad police arrested two suspects after a brief encounter with Sunday night's attack. By late Monday night, two more suspects were apprehended, police said.

In Sunday night's incident, constable Saurabh Kumar, posted with Phase 3 police station in Noida, sustained a gunshot wound to the head during the operation. He was rushed to a hospital in Ghaziabad by his team but was declared dead on arrival.

According to Gautam Budh Nagar police, a seven-member police team had gone to Nahal to arrest 29-year-old Qadir, wanted for allegedly stealing a music system and engine control module from a parked car around 20 days ago. A case under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) section 303(2) for theft was registered in the matter on May 21.

According to the FIR in the attack case, filed by the GB Nagar police at Masuri police station in Ghaziabad, the team, comprising three sub-inspectors and four constables, located Qadir around 100-200 meters from his house in Nahal. As they moved to arrest him, a crowd gathered. Qadir then alerted his accomplices, including his brother, who began shouting that the police were taking him away, the FIR alleged.

"They opened indiscriminate fire. As we made Qadir sit in the police vehicle, his brother and others started firing," the FIR stated.