Two held for firing shots at news channel crew

Two men were arrested for allegedly opening fire at the crew of a television news channel in south Delhi, police said on Thursday.

The accused were identified as Tayyab (23), a resident of Shahdara in east Delhi, and Shahid (20), a resident of Kabir Nagar, they added.

According to the police, ASI Jitender, posted at the Sarojini Nagar police station, was dismissed from service based on an inquiry report.

The inquiry was initiated against the ASI after the victim complained that he refused to help when approached by them, the police said.

With the arrest of the duo, the police claimed to have solved 20 cases, including those involving charges of attempt to murder, snatching, robbery and those under the Arms Act registered at local police stations.

The police got a tip-off about the accused after they learnt that Tayyab was nabbed on June 17 in connection with a year-old kidnapping-cum-robbery case registered at the Vivek Vihar police station, officials said.

The incident took place in the intervening night of June 9-10, when TV journalist Siddharth Purohit was headed towards the INA market via the Barapulla flyover in an office cab with his crew and the driver for an assignment, Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rajeev Ranjan said.

When they reached near Suchna Bhawan, two bike-borne men, brandishing a pistol, signalled the driver to stop.

As the driver sped away, the accused fired three shots at the vehicle, but the crew managed to flee, the officer said.

The accused were identified with the help of CCTV footage, he added.

Raids were conducted in western Uttar Pradesh and in the trans-Yamuna area of east Delhi to nab the accused, he said.

The probe revealed that Tayyab was arrested in a year-old kidnapping-cum-robbery case a few days ago and declared a proclaimed offender by a court. He was subsequently arrested in the current case and sent to police custody, Ranjan said.

During interrogation, Tayyab disclosed the name of Shahid and other members of his gang.

They had also robbed a cab driver at gunpoint after firing at him while he was returning from the IGI airport after dropping a passenger, the police said.