Delhi: Guard ‘shoots’ man dead on suspicion of theft, arrested

Police said the accused, Rajender Singh (46), found the victim, Ashish, and his friend, Kunal (18), roaming inside the premises and allegedly fired at them with his single-barrel gun. The pellets hit Ashish in the face and chest. A case had been registered under IPC section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder).

Police said they received information at 9.51 pm that Ashish had been brought to Hedgewar Hospital by his mother, where he was declared dead on arrival. Police said Kunal told them the two had gone to the construction site at CBD ground to steal iron rods and that a security guard had shot Ashish while they were cutting through a tin shed.

“The guard has no criminal history. He claims he had fired the gun once in the air and also issued a verbal warning. When the two did not heed his warning, he fired at them. He said he aimed at the legs of the deceased. However, since the shed was at a lower elevation, the pellets from the weapon hit him and killed him,” said DCP (Shahdara) R Sathiyasundaram.

Ashish’s mother, Geeta, and Kunal rushed him to the hospital. She said: “When he was leaving the house on Sunday around 7 pm, he asked me to make some rotis for dinner. He said he would bring dal when he returned… Kunal told me my son had been shot and I rushed to the site. We took him to the hospital. I don’t know how long he lay bleeding before I got there.”

Ashish, who had studied up to Class 9, did odd jobs and had also worked as a clothes shop salesman, his mother said. The family lives in New Sanjay Amar Colony in Shahdara.

Kunal’s father Reshampal, a labourer, said: “He had gone out with his friend… police have now called him to court as a witness. We have not been given much information so far.”

The National Capital Regional Transport Corporation, which is heading the Delhi-Meerut RRTS project, said it had employed a security agency to guard the site. “The incident involved a guard employed by an external agency. This is a law and order case and law-enforcement agencies will take necessary action as per prevalent rules and procedures,” said an NCRTC spokesperson.