New Delhi, Jan. 29: An unidentified person opened fire just a few hundred metres from the Prime Minister’s residence early on Thursday and managed to flee despite the heavy security in the national capital due to Republic Day celebrations, according to a complaint filed with the police by the chief of security of a major Delhi hotel.
The security scare took place on Thursday afternoon at the exit gate of The Ashok hotel, in the high-security Chanakyapuri area, when several shots were allegedly fired by the occupant/occupants of a Maruti Swift car that was leaving the hotel. Despite it being mandatory, as per the new security protocol after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, for a PCR van to be stationed outside each five-star hotel, the police was not able to track the shooters.
The chief security officer of The Ashok, Mr S.R. Vats, lodged a complaint with the Chanakyapuri police station on Thursday regarding this incident. In the complaint, a copy of which is with this newspaper, Mr Vats claimed that an unidentified person fired bullets from a Maruti Swift Car (registration No. DL1CL 7142), which was coming out of the hotel at 4.10 am on Thursday. The complaint states that a security guard posted at the gate where the incident happened noted the registration number of the car after which the police was informed.
Sources said two men were in the car, which escaped from the hotel by taking Kemal Ataturk Marg. The PM’s residence at 7, Race Course Road is located a few hundred metres from the scene of the crime. “As soon as the incident happened, the police were alerted. However, the miscreants sped off and the police were not able to catch them despite it being a heavily barricaded area,” a source said.
The police has recovered one empty cartridge from the spot and a case has been registered. However, the alleged shooter has not yet been tracked down and the police is on the lookout for the owner of the car. “We have identified the car owner and police teams are looking for him. His father is a businessman and he lives alone in Kingsway Camp area. The car has been seized and we will arrest him soon,” joint commissioner of police (New Delhi) Dharmendra Kumar said.
Jehangir Ali
