Fears of a terror attack spread among passersby and residents near the Akshardham temple after they heard gunshots near the temple compound on Thursday afternoon. The temple is one of the most guarded places in Delhi and is vulnerable to a terror attack, according to security agency inputs.

Denying any terror incident, police said it was a case of robbery and that the suspects had fired at the police while fleeing. Delhi Police spokesperson, Madhur Verma, said two men of the seven suspects were arrested. No one was hurt in the incident.

Recounting the incident, police said six men, on motorcycles, had robbed two poultry farm owners of ₹45 lakh at gunpoint on NH-24, in east Delhi’s Pandav Nagar area.

The poultry farm owners, Ashok Kumar and Narender (single name), who belong to Sonepat, Haryana, had come to collect money from poultry traders at Ghazipur Mandi on Thursday. With a collection of R45 lakh, the businessmen left in an autorickshaw for Kashmere Gate from where they had to board a bus to their hometown, DCP (east) Jasmeet Singh said.

“The suspects intercepted their auto on NH-24, between the mandi and Akshardham flyover, and robbed the men of the cash bag after pointing a pistol at them,” Singh said.

As the robbers sped off, the businessmen raised the alarm and some traffic police personnel and policemen patrolling the highway came to their help. The policemen began chasing the suspects, who were on three motorcycles. While the others managed to flee with the loot after firing at the police party, one of them was overpowered after the police intercepted his motorcycle near Akshardham flyover. The man riding pillion, however, also managed to escape with his associates.

Police said the man disclosed the names of his associates and also the businessmen’s collection agent, who had passed on the information about the money to them. Police then arrested the collection agent from his office in east Delhi.

“We are interrogating the arrested men to locate the hideouts and nab them. We are not disclosing the names of the arrested men at the moment. A case has been registered and investigations are on,” the DCP said.

First Published: Feb 22, 2019 11:33 IST