May 10, 2009 12:47:07 am
Four Delhi Police officers were shot at in an exchange of fire with suspects in Kanjhawala area of Outer Delhi late on Friday night. None of the cops were injured.
According to police sources,a PCR message was flashed across Delhi around 2.10 am last night that a Haryana car,a Ford Endeavour (HR-99 DA 4759),has escaped after opening fire at a police party in Kanjhawala and should be stopped if spotted anywhere across the city.
Upon receiving a tip-off that Manoj Bakkarwala,a criminal with a reward on his head,would come to Kanjhawala area,a team of sleuths from the Anti Auto Theft Squad,AATS,South Delhi laid a trap.
When the police party spotted Manoj and his associates and asked them to surrender,they started firing indiscriminately,forcing the cops to fire back.
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They were in a Ford Endeavour car and before we could nab them,they escaped from the spot, police sources said.
Though we tried to chase them for sometime,they managed to flee. No one from the police party was injured. They were equipped with sophisticated weapons, they said.
Soon after the PCR call,the local police and senior officers of South district reached the spot.
A fresh case under relevant sections has been registered in connection with the incident at the Aman Vihar police station.
Manoj Bakkarwala is among the most wanted car thieves in the Capital,who is alleged to have lifted hundreds of vehicles. He carries a reward of Rs 25,000 on his head.
Last month,the Special Cell of the Delhi Police had arrested four of Bakkarwalas associates for auto-lifting.
In July 2008,Haryana Police had brought Bakkarwala to the Tis Hazari courts for a hearing.
He somehow persuaded the policemen escorting him to take him to Dwarka from where he fled with handcuffs on.
He has been absconding ever since. Police sources added that they suspect Bakkarwalas involvement in the recent spate of car-jacking incidents in South Delhi areas,primarily Vasant Vihar.
Newsline had reported that in the past one month,four luxury cars,all of them Ford Endaveours,were stolen from Vasant Vihar area.
We have a strong suspicion that Bakkarwala is involved in the recent car-jacking incidents. Though our team had gone to Kanjhawala last night to arrest him,things went awry as they opened fire, a senior police officer said.
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