New Delhi: Two criminals were gunned down in West Delhi’s Dwarka area on Sunday afternoon in a case of inter-gang rivalry. One of the criminals was shot dead by rival gang members while the other died after suffering bullet injuries during a shootout with police.
According to the police, the gang war between Manjeet Mahal gang and Nandu gang led to a shootout when a member of Mahal’s gang Praveen alias Golu was shot at by at least four members of the Nandu gang. “Praveen is believed to be the financier of the Mahal gang and was travelling towards Dwarka Mor metro station when suddenly three men in a car and two bike-borne men opened fire at him,” said Joint Commissioner of Police (Western range) Madhup Tiwari.
An eyewitness said the accused initially could not target Praveen so one of them identified as Vikas Dalal got down from the car, reached Praveen’s car and fired three rounds at him from a very close range. However, the sound of the gunshots by Dalal were also heard by a constable in a PCR van across the road, who ran to the crime scene with his service rifle. The constable warned the accused to put his gun down, but he alleged that the accused starting firing at him instead.
The constable then retaliated with three rounds of fire, which injured Dalal and his associate. “The constable had asked the accused to drop their weapons but when the accused fired, he had to retaliate. Two of the accused received injuries and were taken to a nearby hospital,” Tiwari added. Though the rest of the attackers were able to escape, Dalal, his associate and Praveen were taken to a nearby hospital where Praveen was declared dead while Dalal succumbed to his injuries during treatment.
