The wife of an alleged criminal, Manoj Vashishtha who was gunned down by police on Saturday inside restaurant has called his death a murder and has demanded that the CCTV footage of the crime spot be made public.
Priyanka Vashishtha, who was present in the restaurant when her husband gunned down said her husband Manoj Vashishtha was alive and responded to him when she called out his name after he was shot at.
"He moved his hand when I called out his name. I told police that he was alive and begged them to rush him to a hospital. But police did not move my husband from the spot for 35 minutes despite the presence of two major hospitals nearby," alleged Priyanka.
Priyanka is a member of zila panchayat in UP's Baghpat district from where the couple hails. Manoj himself heads a organisation Deshbhakt Sena Trust. A visit to his Facebook profile throws up many photographs of him with prominent political leaders, including BJP's Nitin Gadkari, Delhi MP Udit Raj and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.
Police, however claimed that it was Manoj who had first opened fire at a police team which were tipped-off about his presence at the restaurant located in central Delhi's Rajender Nagar.
Police had to fire in retaliation and one bullet that hit him took his life, they claimed. Police said he was facing several criminal cases including cheating and fraud. Police, however, claimed there were many cases against him, including one of manpower racket masterminded by his father-in-law.