Security guard shoots dead armed thief in Ghaziabad after exchanging fire

In a dramatic shoot out on the outskirts of Delhi, a security guard at an under-construction high-rise in Ghaziabad’s Siddharth Vihar opened fire and killed a suspected thief following an exchange of gunfire after the latter with his gang entered the society late on Tuesday night.

Police said that they are trying to establish identity of the suspect while his accomplices fled in darkness.

The incident took place around midnight when guards posted at the high-rise spotted a gang of thieves, trying to sneak inside through the rear side of the premises.

“They were about four-five men who had cut off the backside grills and tin plates behind the under-construction area. (One of) The guards on duty spotted them and opened fire, leading to the death of one while his accomplices fled. The police was informed and an inspection of the site was also conducted late Tuesday night. We are trying to establish the identity of the deceased and a case will soon be registered,” Nimish Patil, assistant commissioner of police (City1), said.

Police said that the guard who opened fire with his 12 bore double-barreled shot gun was Bhoop Singh, a retired soldier.

Singh opened fire after several shots were allegedly fired by the suspects , probably from country-made weapons, Nipun Agarwal, deputy commissioner of police, (City), said.

“They (the thieves) had come with the intent to steal material like iron and steel from the site. There have been previous attempts of theft here but there is no formal complaint given to us about these incidents. We have visited the site and also questioning the guard to get more details,” Agarwal said.

“There are no CCTV cameras installed at the site. The body of the suspect (who was) shot dead has been sent for autopsy,” ACP Patil added.

The police is questioning Singh to get more details of the incident and draw up a sequence of events, which led to the firing.

Also Read: Six arrested for robbing a Ghaziabad home of valuables

A senior employee attached to the real estate project said around 400 flats are under construction at the site.

“There have been incidents of theft reported couple of months ago and for past two days these activities surfaced yet again. So, we increased the number of guards. On Tuesday night, the guards spotted four-five men entering the premises and they issued them a warning. Upon this, the group of suspects opened fire,” Nikhil Sisodia, head (business development) of the project, said.

“After hearing shots, our guard also opened fire with his licensed gun and one of the suspects was shot dead. The group of suspects had cut off the backside grills and also bent some in order to make a passage to inside. We informed the police immediately,” Sisodia added.