Citycops Pull The Trigger

3 criminals involved in 90 cases held in CP shootout 12 ‘soft encounters’ in 30 days as gangs target Lutyens’ Delhi

- Chayyanika Nigam in New Delhi

Gunshots shattered the pre-dawn calm in Delhi's Connaught Place on Wednesday. Three robbers, who had targeted about 90 joggers and cyclists, were caught after an exchange of fire with the city police.

Two of them suffered bullet injuries in their legs and were rushed to RML Hospital. Cops had scanned CCTV footage for clues, laid a trap for them — and opened fire only when they were fired at.

But this wasn’t a one-off action. As street crime surges, especially in posh areas like Lutyens’ Delhi, cops have gone on a spree of ‘soft encounters’ — shooting criminals only in their hands and legs as part of retaliation.

In the last one month (September 23 to October 23), the National Capital has seen 12 such shootouts in which 17 criminals have been shot at and 21 arrested.

This follows widespread criticism of the police as daily counts of snatchings and robberies have spiked to 18 and six, respectively.