Injured cop takes on snatchers, 1 arrested

A policeman displayed exemplary courage on Saturday after he nabbed a robber despite being shot in the arm.

The incident happened during an operation against a gang of snatchers in Central Delhi’s ITO, barely a kilometre from the Delhi Police headquarters.

Constable Bhiwa Ram was hit in his right arm, but the injury is not life-threatening, said a senior police officer. He is undergoing treatment at Lok Nayak Hospital.

The arrested accused, Manoj Mishra, is a notorious snatcher who is involved in over three dozen crimes in Central and North Delhi. His accomplice, who managed to escape, has been identified but is yet to be nabbed.

A police team from Daryaganj police station had laid a trap on the Link Road near ITO after receiving a tip-off about the two snatchers heading towards Geeta Colony in East Delhi with the intention of robbing a businessman.

It was around 1 p.m. that constable Bhiwa Ram and his colleagues, dressed in plainclothes, identified the two men arriving on a motorcycle, which was flagged down.

“The motorcycle rider took a U-turn and tried to speed away. But, Bhiwa Ram held on to the motorcycle from behind. The pillion rider then pulled out a pistol and opened fire at the constable,” said a senior police officer.

The injured constable, however, grabbed the collar of the pillion rider and pulled him off the motorcycle. The motorcycle rider, meanwhile, got away. The police said that Ram’s colleagues were ready to shoot at the rider, but since the constable and the nabbed suspect were involved in a scuffle, doing so could have been risky.

The constable, a native of Sikar district of Rajasthan, was immediately rushed to hospital.

The suspect was taken to the police station where he was booked for attempt to murder.

Police said the incident on Saturday was one among several attempts to nab members of this gang that had been targeting people in Karol Bagh, Paharganj and Ajmeri Gate. According to the police, the gang is involved in at least 40 cases of snatching and robbery. “We have already solved 36 registered cases with the arrest of this suspect,” said a senior officer.