A 42-year-old businessman was shot dead by unidentified bike borne assailants when he tried to stop them from snatching his cash bag near his house in Northwest Delhi’s Ashok Vihar Phase 2 area on Tuesday night. The chilling robbery was recorded by the neighbourhood CCTV camera.
The businessman, identified as Sanjeev Kumar, was about to reach his home when he was attacked by some armed robbers, who apparently had been following him.
A senior police official of the North-West district police said that the CCTV footage recovered from near the crime scene suggests that the accused were following the victim after he left his shop with the day’s sale proceed. The incident took place when he was barely 15 meters away from his residence, said the police officer.
Police said that the incident happened outside the Presidium School when Sanjeev Kumar, the deceased, who owns a cloth manufacturing shop at Shastri Nagar, was returning home. Sanjeev Kumar, resident of C-block in the Phase 2 area, at around 8:30pm was heading home in his scooty when a group of four men on two motorcycles intercepted him and tried to snatch his bag containing cash.
“The accused opened four rounds of firing. One of the bullets hit Kumar’s leg. left injured, they fled from the spot. Injured Kumar, however, allegedly tried to give a chase to the bikers. In the CCTV footage, it is evident that one of the bikers got down from the motorcycle and shot at Kumar at point blank range.
“Hearing gunshots, locals rushed out and informed Kumar’s family who took him to the Sundar lal Jain hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. We are still trying to ascertain the exact amount of cash which was robbed from the victim,” said the senior police officer. Sanjeev Kumar is survived by his wife, two daughters and a son.
Police has registered a case has been registered under Sections 302 (punishment for murder), 394 (voluntarily causing hurt in committing robbery), 397 (robbery, or dacoity, with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against unknown persons at Ashok Vihar police station. Relevant sections of Arms Act have also been added.
Senior police officials said that though the incident has been captured in a CCTV but the accused men are not fully seen in the footage. Police is questioning the locals and going through the CCTV footage of adjoining areas to find clues and trace the accused, said the police officer.