Eight eyewitnesses have supported the police’s claims that the man shot dead in a police operation in a restaurant Saturday evening was the first to whip out a pistol and open fire. The policemen opened fire only in response, they said on Sunday. However, it was still not made clear by Delhi Police as how Manoj Vashisht died and which bullet hit him — his own on a ricochet or the police officer’s. The central district police, who are investigating the matter, have recorded the statement of the eight eyewitnesses, including three waiters and have videographed their statements. The Indian Express has accessed the footage of one eye-witness statement, that of Jennifer. She had come from Chennai and was sitting on the front part of the table, close to where Vashisht was sitting along with six other persons, including four women. [related-post] Within a few minutes of the incident, the sleuths of the Special Cell had seized the cellphones of all the people who were present at the spot and only handed them back at 1 am, after recording their statements. Jennifer told the police that she came to Delhi along with her two friends and they later met one Sanjay Vohra, who was working for Vashisht. Vashisht also ran a tour and travel business named Adventure Zine Tour and Travels and was planning to expand it to Chennai. “We came to Delhi four days ago. Vohra had fixed our business meeting with Vashisht on Saturday evening at Sagar Ratna restaurant. We were waiting for him and then Vashisht, who was talking with someone over phone came and sat with us,” she said. “Vashisht had problem understanding my accent so he introduced himself with the help Vohra. We were discussing something when suddenly two persons, in plainclothes, came and introduced themselves as men from Delhi Police. One of them asked Vashisht to come with him, but Vashisht suddenly took out a pistol. He was then quickly overpowered by the policemen. During the brief scuffle, he pointed his gun towards me. I got scared and hid under the table. In the meantime, I saw Vashisht had opened fire. Within seconds, I saw Vashisht collapse. His body was soon lying in a pool of blood,” she said in her police statement. Sources in the Special Cell told The Indian Express that the team, under the supervision of ACP Manishi Chandra, was tracking the movement of Vashisht for the last 10 days. On Saturday, they received a tip-off that Vashisht would go to Sagar Ratna restaurant in Rajendra Nagar. A team of eight police personnel reached the spot along with their informers and two of them sat in the restaurant. “At around 8.10 pm, the accused Vashisht came to the restaurant and sat at a table along with his guests. The informers of the police identified him and the police personnel then called their senior inspector inside the restaurant. Vashisht was sitting in the middle seat and was talking with his associates when suddenly the inspector, along with his police personnel, came close and put his hand on Vashisht’s shoulder. He asked him to come with him, but Vashisht then whipped out a gun. Vashisht entered into a scuffle with the inspector but then another cop overpowered him. Vashisht then opened fire and his (own) bullet hit him in the head. after hearing the gunshot, another sub-inspector opened fire in response, which hit the victim’s lower back,” police sources said. Another eye-witnesses, Sanjay Vohra, told the reporters, “I was sitting with the victim Vashisht in the restaurant and suddenly police were over him. He entered into a scuffle and whipped out his pistol. Later, I heard only two gun shots and saw Vashisht’s dead body on the floor.”
