Two tense confrontations in two days resulted in the deaths of a Delhi Police constable and the prime suspect in his murder in the national capital. The chain of events began in the early hours of November 23, when constable Kiranpal was patrolling near Arya Samaj Mandir in Govindpuri.
A 28-year-old who joined the Delhi Police in 2018, Kiranpal came across three drunk men during his patrol. Kiranpal managed to block their escape by positioning his bike in front of their vehicle and seizing the keys to their scooter. However, this routine intervention took a deadly turn when the men attacked him, stabbing him to death before fleeing the scene.
Kiranpal’s colleagues found him unconscious and gravely injured. He was rushed to a hospital but was declared brought dead. The investigation quickly identified the assailants, sparking a manhunt.
Yesterday afternoon, Delhi Police and the Crime Branch tracked two suspects, Deepak and Krish, to the Kalkaji area. Attempting to evade capture, Deepak fired at the police team but was shot in the leg during the ensuing encounter. He was arrested along with his accomplice, Krish. This breakthrough set the stage for the pursuit of the third and primary accused, Raghav alias Rocky, who had evaded capture.
A joint team from the Special Cell and Narcotics Cell moved into Sangam Vihar late Saturday night. The team closed in on the area connecting Sangam Vihar and Surajkund Road.
The suspect was identified, and officers called on him to surrender. However, Raghav had other plans. Armed with a .32 bore pistol, he fired on the advancing police team in a desperate bid to escape. The officers returned fire in self-defence. Raghav sustained gunshot injuries in the retaliatory action. Despite immediate medical attention at a hospital, he died of his injuries.
Police recovered Raghav’s loaded pistol with two live cartridges. No police personnel were injured during the operation.