In a shocking incident, a 40-year-old man paid a heavy price for standing up to sexual harassers. Sanjay, who sells clothes from a roadside cart in Gurgaon, was beaten up and shot in the abdomen for coming to the aid of a woman who was being harassed by a group of men in west Delhi's, Janakpuri locality.
According to the Times of India, Sanjay had to undergo an emergency operation as the bullet had grazed his internal organs. The main accused, Ravinder, was arrested on Wednesday. A college dropout, he is a member of a local criminal gang.
The police initially assumed that the shooting, which occurred on 19 December, was a case of inter-gang rivalry. However, the police's view of the case changed when Sanjay gave his statement after he had recovered from surgery. According to TOI, Sanjay told the police that he was on his way home when he stopped near the Janakpuri Metro Station to buy some packed food. That's when he heard a woman calling out for help.
Sanjay told the police that Ravinder and his fellow gang members Anshu Gupta, Pradeep, and Ramesh were passing lewd comments at the woman. When Sanjay confronted them, Ravinder pushed him away and thrashed him. When Sanjay refused to go away, Ravinder pulled out a pistol and shot him. On hearing the gunshot, locals gathered at the site and Ravinder fled from the scene with his accomplices.
"A team was formed to track down Ravinder. It laid a trap near the Dwarka sector 10 Metro station on the basis of a tip-off and nabbed Ravi when he came to meet an associate," Ravindra Yadav, joint commissioner, crime told TOI. The police found that Ravinder was a member of the Saddam Gauri gang which is active in southwest and west Delhi.
According to police, Ravinder joined the Saddam Gauri gang in 2010 and has been involved in several criminal cases. He has been arrested by the police five times in the past.
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