A constable was killed and another policeman suffered injuries when some people attacked them at Nahal village in Ghaziabad district on Monday morning
during a raid.
A team of seven policemen had raided the place to arrest Mohammad Qadir, allegedly involved in murders and extortion, following a tip-off.
Surendra Nath, the deputy commissioner of police (DCP) of Ghaziabad Rural, said inspector Udit Singh led other policemen from neighbouring Gautam Buddha Nagar to arrest Qadir.
“The police had gone there after receiving information from an informer that Qadir was hiding there. But a large number of people who had arms attacked them, during which Constable Saurabh Deshwal suffered fatal injuries and was declared brought dead at a local hospital,” he said. Constable Sunit Kumar has suffered injuries.
The DCP added that additional forces were deployed and Qadir had been arrested.
Sources said Deshwal had received a gunshot to the head. “We saw both sides firing at each other. But the police didn’t have a vehicle. They took Deshwal to the hospital in a three-wheeler. He had suffered a bullet injury to his head,” said an eyewitness.
A police officer said: “The Gautam Buddha Nagar police didn’t inform Ghaziabad police before or during the operation. They should have informed the Ghaziabad police. It was also not clear why they didn’t have a vehicle. Qadir is not a dreaded criminal, but is involved in some cases. The Gautam Buddha Nagar police had told their Ghaziabad counterparts that their district’s criminal was hiding here.
“We have come to know that at least 20 people attacked the police. This is an intelligence failure as seven policemen reached there as if they were on a morning walk and not there to arrest a criminal. Maybe the intention behind giving information about Qadir was to lay a trap for the cops.”
The Gautam Buddha Nagar police have registered a case against 12 unidentified criminals for attacking the police. Over 200 policemen have been deployed in Nahal to identify and arrest the killers of Deshwal.
Doctor surrenders
A doctor accused of a botched hair transplant that allegedly led to the death of two young engineers surrendered before a lower court in Kanpur on Monday and was subsequently sent to jail, police said.
Anushka Tiwari was wanted in connection with a case of death by negligence.
According to assistant commissioner of police (Kalyanpur) Abhishek Pandey, Anushka had submitted an application for surrender a few days ago. “She appeared before the chief judicial magistrate court today and formally surrendered,” the ACP said.
Pandey said the police would soon move an application seeking her custody remand.
Additional reporting by PTI