‘Pelted stones at us, shouted kill them’: Noida cop shot dead after raid to nab wanted man ends in gun fight
Constable Saurabh Kumar, 26, was shot in the head and was admitted to a hospital where doctors declared him dead, the Noida police said
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Saurabh Kumar was with a police party that had gone
to arrest a wanted history sheeter in Ghaziabad’s Nahal village (Express/Praveen Khanna)A 26-year-old Noida Police constable was killed after he was allegedly shot in the head during a raid in a village in Ghaziabad on Sunday night. Constable Saurabh Kumar was with a police party from Noida’s Phase 3 police station, attired in plainclothes, which had gone to arrest a wanted history sheeter when they came under fire.
A resident of UP’s Shamli, Saurabh had joined the UP Police in 2016. His father, Uttam Kumar, said, “He was a BCom graduate and always wanted to join the police… My son sacrificed his life for the country, what else can I say…”
A statement issued by Noida Police said a case of theft was registered against the history sheeter, Qadir (22), at Noida’s Police Station Phase 3.
“On May 25, when a team in plainclothes went to arrest Qadir, a resident of Nahal village, his associates fired [upon the police party] and pelted stones [at them] with the intention to kill the police team… Constable Saurabh was seriously injured [when] a bullet hit his head.
“He was taken to Yashoda Hospital at Nehru Nagar, where a doctor declared him dead. Several other policemen were also injured and were being medically examined,” the statement added.
In a purported video that went viral on social media, Constable Saurabh, dressed in blue jeans and a sky blue shirt, is seen lying on the road in a pool of blood while two policemen make phone calls. In another video, he can be seen being carried and placed in an auto rickshaw by three men.
DCP (Ghaziabad) Surendra Nath Tiwari told The Indian Express, “Gautam Buddha Nagar police had come to arrest an accused in Nahal village. Officials of Masuri police station (the village falls under the jurisdiction of this station) were not at the spot.”
“At night, we received information that one of their constables was injured and later declared dead at the hospital… We received a complaint from them (Noida Police) and registered an FIR. They had also arrested the accused [Qadir]. They brought him to our police station and we took him into custody,” the DCP said, adding that they have “constituted five teams to investigate and identify the [remaining] accused”.
Noida Police Commissioner Laxmi Singh announced that she will donate Rs 1 lakh from her salary, while every police personnel of Gautam Budh Nagar will donate a day’s salary, to Saurabh’s family.
What transpired
Based on Noida Police sub-inspector Sachin Rathi’s complaint, a case of murder and assaulting public servants was registered against Qadir, his brothers, and several others.
In his complaint, Rathi said that around 11 pm, he, along with sub-inspectors Udit Singh, Nikhil, Sachin, and constables Saurabh, Sandeep Kumar and Sonit, left for Nahal after a tip-off from an informer.
“The informer told us Qadir was a habitual offender… he said he would run away seeing the police team… and told us to leave our vehicles behind and come on a bike. The informer came with us. [When we reached], he gestured at Qadir, who was seated among several people,” read the FIR.
According to Rathi’s statement, the team arrested Qadir and told the people present that they were policemen. “… We showed our ID cards… as soon as Qadir heard that we were policemen, he started shouting… ‘policemen are arresting me, catch them and kill them’… Soon, a large crowd gathered… and started shouting… When we put Qadir in the vehicle, his brother and other people started firing at us… Saurabh was hit in the head while Sonit fell to the ground. When we were trying to put the injured [men]… into the vehicle, the crowd fired at us again and pelted stones…,” Rathi said.
“We somehow managed to… escape… and take Qadir along.”
On Monday morning, the Ghaziabad Police, along with a SWAT team, arrested two men — Nanhu and Abdul — after a shootout. The duo sustained injuries to their limbs. Ghaziabad Police further claimed the two accused said they were involved in attacking the Noida police team last night.
ACP (Masuri) Lipi Nagaich said the two men were arrested during a vehicle check at the DME underpass. “Police saw [the men on] a bike and asked them to stop… but they opened fire and lost control of the vehicle. In retaliation, police shot at their legs… they were later admitted to the hospital,” she said.
Police said Qadir has “16 cases of theft and robbery registered against him”.
Back at the village, there was an eerie silence. All shops were shut. At Qadir’s three-storey house, seven policemen were stationed.
Gram pradhan Tasawar Ali told The Indian Express that Qadir was recently released from Shamli jail after he was arrested in a case of theft. “We know he is a habitual criminal. There was some incident in Noida, and the police team had come to arrest him,’’ he said, adding, “I wasn’t aware of the raid and wasn’t here as it happened around 11 pm…”
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