WATCH | In a first, angry CISF jawan opens fire at Delhi Metro station
On Monday night, at Azadpur metro station, a CISF jawan had to fire in the air with his service pistol, in the first such instance the Delhi Metro's 15-year history.
In Short
- Two groups clash at Azadpur metro station, prompting intervention of CISF guard.
- Crowd turns its ire on the CISF jawan when a man collapses on to the floor.
- Jawan fires in air to bring violent crowd under control.
History was made on the Delhi Metro this week. Not the kind of history the iconic public transport service will want to be remembered, but history nonetheless.
On Monday night, at Azadpur metro station, a CISF jawan had to fire in the air with his service pistol. This was the first instance in Delhi Metro's 15-year history that a Central Industrial Security Force guard had to resort to firing his weapon.
Why did the CISF jawan fire in the air? The immediate cause, going by CCTV footage of the incident, seems that the guard was trying to bring under control a crowd that was about to assault him.
How it all started, however, isn't very clear. CCTV footage of the incident showed a group of men attacking a youth. The men are seen punching and kicking the youth. What prompted the attack not known yet.
In the melee, some other men, possibly bystanders, attempted to come to the youth's rescue; they were soon joined by a CISF guard.
With his service pistol out, the guard unsuccessfully attempts to break up the fight. At one point, the CISF guard is seeing grabbing a man in a blue shirt by his collar and dragging him a few paces away.
CISF jawan fires in air at Delhi Metro station to control violent crowd#ITVideoMore videos: https://t.co/NounxnP7mg pic.twitter.com/UikRbnxWZV- India Today (@IndiaToday) October 4, 2017
The guard releases the man, who is then surrounded by a few other people, including a few women. Suddenly and inexplicably, the man falls down on the ground - in CCTV footage, it seems that he has fallen unconscious.
At this point, the people were standing around the man turn their ire toward the CISF jawan. The crowd looks like it is about to assault the jawan when he straights his arm upwards and fires a shot, bringing the entire situation to a standstill.
It remains unclear what the initial attack was about or what action officials subsequently took. A PTI report from Monday had said a few men had been detained. However, there were elements from the CCTV footage, which emerged today, that contradicted several aspects of the PTI report.
Watch the complete CCTV footage here