Two arrested after brief gun battle in Delhi

Two men, said to be members of the notorious Nasir gang, were arrested on Friday after a brief gun fight with sleuths of the Delhi Police's Special Cell in the city's Mukhmailpur area, officials said.

Salman (24) and Nazim (23), both residents of New Seelampur, were wanted in two separate cases of murder, police said, adding that they were carrying rewards of Rs 1 lakh and Rs 50,000, respectively.

Police said they received information that the brothers would visit Pusta Road in Mukhmailpur in the wee hours to meet one of their contacts.

"When the accused brothers reached Pusta Road T-point, they were signalled to stop. Instead, they whipped out their pistols and started firing at police following which a shootout took place," said PS Kushwah, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell).

Around eight rounds were fired by the duo while the police fired six rounds, overpowering them, the officer said.

During the shootout, Salman sustained a bullet injury on his right leg and was rushed to Babu Jagjiwan Ram Hospital in Jahangirpuri, he said.

Two semi-automatic pistols, five live cartridges and one motorcycle were seized from them.

Interrogations revealed that Salman and Nazim were involved in bitter fight with members of another gang in northeast Delhi. They had allegedly shot dead the brother of a rival gang member in New Usmanpur area on April 1. More than eight bullets were pumped into the deceased, the officer said.

The deceased, Hakimuddin, was the brother of Rehan who is a part of the Irfan gang.

Salman and Nazim had also killed Sarafraz who used to provide financial and other logistical help to Rehan, police said.