Delhi witnessed two encounters between police and criminals on Thursday. A gangster carrying a reward of `3.5 lakh and his accomplice on whose head `2 lakh was there were arrested on Bhairon Marg, while in another incident a wanted criminal escaped from police custody following a shootout outside GTB hospital on Thursday afternoon.
The shootout in which the criminal escaped after his aides threw chilli powder at the police team took place around 12.30 pm when the third battalion of the Delhi Police was taking gangster Kuldeep, alias Fajja, who is a member of the Gogi gang, to the hospital for treatment, a senior police officer said.
In the Pragati Maidan incident, the accused, Rohit Choudhary, 35, and his accomplice, Parveen alias Titu, were arrested after a shootout.
The two suffered injuries in their legs during the encounter and were taken to hospital, police said. This was the first time that a Delhi Police woman officer was part of the encounter team, police claimed.
Both the accused are wanted in cases of the MCOCA, murder, attempt to murder and other cases of robbery as well, police said.
In another incident in which the criminal escaped, a fierce gunfight broke out at a Government hospital in Delhi in broad daylight on Thursday when a police team escorting a notorious criminal came face to face with those who came to aid his escape, leaving one assailant dead and triggering a chaos with patients and their relatives running for cover, officials said.
While the prisoner managed to flee, the police nabbed one of his six associates who was injured in the gunfight at the GTB hospital here, they said.
In a high-voltage drama, the assailants first threw chilli powder at the police team and then started firing at them to which the security personnel retaliated with 12 rounds of fire, killing one of them on the spot and injuring another, officials said.
On the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday, the Delhi Police’s Crime Branch team got a tip-off that Choudhary and his accomplice would reach Bhairon Marg in a blue car, following which a trap was laid down at a parking there, a police officer said.
“Around 4.50 am, when police noticed the car coming from the Ring Road side, they tried to stop the vehicle by placing a barricade but the driver hit it and opened fire at the police team while trying to flee. The police team also opened fire in self-defence,” said Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Shibesh Singh.
During the cross-firing, a shot hit the bullet-proof jacket of ACP Pankaj. Another bullet fired by gangster and his associate hit the bullet-proof jacket of Sub-Inspector Priyanka, the officer said.
Both the accused were shot in their legs and immediately taken to RML Hospital by a PCR van, he said.
Total six rounds were fired during the exchange of fire in which four rounds were fired by police while two were fired by the accused, Singh added.
The team had been tracking the movements of the accused men for the last six months. But the accused were using fake identities to stay in different hotels at different locations. They used mobile phones and dongles to communicate with other gang members through internet calling applications, the police officer said.
Two pistols with eight live cartridges and two empty cartridges and a robbed car have been recovered from the spot, police said, adding that several fake identities, mobile phones and dongles were recovered.
Chaudhary is the kingpin of his gang and is one of the top 10 wanted criminals of Delhi. He is also declared as a “bad character” of Fatehpur Beri police station, they said.
Two of the associates of the gang - Prabhat and Manish - were arrested by the Crime Branch earlier, police said, adding that presently there are nine cases registered against Choudhary and further investigation is underway.
In Kuldeep incident during the encounter, one assailant died on the spot and another got injured who was nabbed. The remaining accused, including Kuldeep, managed to escape, the police said.
“Five to six men came in a Scorpio car and a motorcycle from the rear entrance of the hospital building and fired at the third battalion of the police in an attempt to help the accused escape from custody,” said police.
The accused who died during the incident has been identified as Ravi, while the injured man was identified as Ankesh, police said, adding that both are aged between 25 to 28 years.
“Kuldeep was lodged at the Mandoli Jail and was brought to the OPD of the GTB Hospital for check up by the third battalion of the Delhi Police.
“After his check up was done by the doctors, the security personnel were taking him back to the police vehicle when the assailants started firing,” Joint Commissioner of Police (east) Alok Kumar said.
Kumar said Kuldeep took the advantage of the chaos and managed to escape from the spot along with his associates.
“One of the assailants was killed during the cross fire and other was injured. Police fired 12 rounds in retaliation,” the officer said.
Police said the assailants left the car on the spot while escaping. The accused used multiple gates to escape from the spot. They also snatched a bike from a person outside the hospital and to escape, police said, adding there was chaos at the hospital as people started running to take cover during the shooting.
Chilli powder was seen strewn at the spot and the police also marked the area where empty bullet cartridges were found, officials said.
According the police, Ankesh, who was injured, is out of danger. Kuldeep is a member of the Gogi gang. The members of the gang were involved in extortion, collecting ransom and protection money as well as committing car-jacking among others.
Kuldeep was arrested by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police in March last year from Gurugram, they said.