The main accused in the murder of Delhi Police constable Kiranpal was killed in an encounter with a joint team of local police and Special Cell in the Sangam Vihar area of South Delhi, police said.
The main accused, Raghav alias Rocky was killed in the late hours of Saturday.
According to the police, in the intervening night of November 22 and 23, Constable Kiranpal, along with Constable Banai Singh and Sunil, was stationed at a police booth near Arya Samaj Mandir, in the area of Police station Govindpuri, South East District. At around 4:45 am, Constable Sunil left the booth for some official work. Upon his return, Constable Kiranpal was found missing, and his phone went unanswered. A search ensued, leading to the discovery of Constable Kiranpal lying unconscious with stab wounds, near Gali No. 13, Sant Ravidas Marg, Govindpuri.
“The injured constable was taken to Majidiya Hospital, where he was declared brought dead,” the police said.
The inquiries revealed that the constable had been fatally attacked while on duty and accordingly, a criminal case vide FIR No. 603/2024 was registered under the relevant sections of law.
In the late hours of November 23 information was received regarding the whereabouts of the prime suspect, identified as Raghav alias Rocky, a resident of D Block, Sangam Vihar.
As per the police, a joint team from the Special Cell and Narcotics Cell, South East District, comprising SI Adesh and head constables Arjun, Kaushinder, Balkar and Mohit, who was working together since the tragic incident, went to the area connecting Sangam Vihar to Surajkund Road to verify the information.
“Close to midnight, the suspect was positively identified and after identifying themselves, the police personnel instructed the suspect to surrender himself for questioning. Not heeding to the calls made by the police team, the suspect, in a premeditated manner, opened fire from a close distance at the police party using a firearm that he was carrying. In self-defence, the police team retaliated, which led to the suspect being injured by gunshot wounds,” the police said.
“Post the defensive manoeuvre, the suspect was immediately rushed to ESIC Hospital, Okhla, where he passed away due to the injuries suffered in police action,” they added.
The police also mentioned that a .32 bore pistol with two live rounds was recovered from the accused and no police official has been injured in the operation.
Another accused in the case, Deepak was arrested by Delhi Police’s Crime Branch on Saturday’s afternoon in another operation.
Giving details, Sanjay Kumar Sain, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Crime Branch said that constable Kiranpal was stabbed to death by miscreants when he stopped them during patrolling.
“One of the teams that were deployed to nab them got a lead and we found an accused. When we asked the accused to surrender, he opened fire. Our team also retaliated. He was shot at in the leg after which he was captured,” DCP Sain said.