Cops shoot 25-year-old student mistaking him as extortionist

An FIR has been registered against the policemen and a sealed copy of the FIR has been given to the senior cops, said a source.

At around 10.15 pm, a team of Delhi Police posted at Jaitpur police station laid a trap near Maharani Bagh area to nab an unidentified extortionist. The accused used to make extortion calls to a jeweller who is a resident of Jaitpur area. The victim had earlier filed a complaint at Jaitpur police station.

“Following the complaint, a police team at Jaitpur, led by Sub Inspector P K Jha, received a tip-off that the accused will come at Maharani Bagh area to collect the extortion money from the jeweller. Accordingly, a trap was laid by four policemen in civil dress,” said a police official. 

“Further, Farhan Khan came near the area where the trap was laid. He got down from his motorcycle and started talking over the phone. The policemen suspected him to be the extortionist. They allegedly nabbed him and snatched the mobile phone. In the meantime, his elder brother Asim Khan, who works in Delhi Metro came to the spot. He saw few people misbehaving with his brother and when he intervened, his mobile phone too was snatched by them,” a source said. Suspecting the four men in civil dress to be robbers, the duo tried to escape from the spot. The moment the duo started running, the cops thought that they are the accused. The policemen opened fire at them. The first bullet missed the target but another bullet hit on Farhan’s thighs and he fell on the ground.

After a few minutes, when their mobile phones were scanned, the policemen realised their mistake they immediately rushed him to the nearby Holy Family Hospital where he is undergoing treatment. “Farhan sustained bullet injuries and his condition is said to be normal,” a concerned official of the hospital said.

Senior police officials remained tight-lipped about the matter and the concerned police officials at the police station have been instructed to avoid media.

It was learnt that Farhan lives with his family in South-east Delhi’s Jamia Nagar area and is in the final year of B Tech from a college in Palwal, Haryana.

Meanwhile, a case has been registered at New Friends Colony police station against the two policemen — SI P K Jha and Constable Rajeev — who opened fire at him. “A strict action has been ordered against them and a special team has been formed to probe the sequence of events. The cops found guilty are likely to be sent to district lines,” the source added.