The Delhi police said on Monday that the head constable, who was brutally stabbed to death in Dwarka last week, had run into a gang of criminals who killed him on the fateful night.
The gang members, identified as Sonu Singh, Rakesh, Sanju Nepali and another unidentified person then pounced upon the head constable when he tried to arrest Nepali, and stabbed him to death in Sector 1, Dwarka.
The accused took away his service revolver and money from his pocket before escaping.
The police has arrested two accused, Sonu and Rakesh, while Nepali and the fourth person are absconding and a manhunt is on to nab them.
“Head constable Kailash Chander spotted Nepali, who was absconding in a case, along with other three accused during routine patrolling. The accused were planning to commit a robbery when they saw a policeman coming on motorcycle. They got scared and decided to eliminate him. When Chander stopped his motorcycle and turned the headlight towards them, the light fell on Sanju Nepali, whom Chander recognised instantly,” DCP (southwest), A.K. Ojha said.
The officials said Chander caught hold of Nepali and tried to arrest him.
“The three other accused pounced on him and tried to free Nepali but Chander held on to him firmly. They then stabbed and killed him on the spot,” Mr Ojha said.
Chander had joined Delhi police in 1985 and he hailed from Rajasthan. He is survived by his wife, a daughter and a son.
The police had drawn up a list of criminals released from jail recently and different teams, headed by the SHOs of adjoining police stations were assigned to check the involvement of local petty criminals in the murder.
The police zeroed in on Rakesh who led it to the second suspect Sonu.
“Rakesh initially tried to mislead the police by saying that he was sleeping in a bus parked closed to the scene of crime and that he was not involved in it in any way. However, several fresh injury marks were seen on his body and during sustained interrogation, he broke down and confessed to the crime,” DCP Ojha said.