'Let's kill this cop today': Drunk duo in car chases, drags, and kills Delhi constable

NEW DELHI: A 30-year-old policeman patrolling on a bike died after a car driven by a man he had a tiff with a few minutes ago chased, hit and dragged him for over 30 feet before crushing him against a stationary vehicle in west Delhi's Nangloi at 2.15am on Sunday. The two occupants of the car were inebriated and "deliberately" mowed down Constable Sandeep Malik (30) after he had allegedly stopped them from drinking inside the car, police claimed. An FIR of murder was registered against the two and one of them, Rajnish, was arrested. The car was seized, and a liquor bottle and packets of chips were found in it.

However, the motive cited by police - that they were enraged after Sandeep objected to their drinking - doesn't tally with the content of the initial diary entry made by local police. The entry mentions the involvement of a liquor supplier named Jangra in the case and that he was pressuring the cop to "get work done".

Police refuted a "mafia angle", but didn't explain the contents of the diary. It said the attack was deliberate, and one of the suspects has a property rental business and the family of the other a general store. The probe may be handed over to crime branch, sources say. The incident took place around 2.15am at Veena Enclave in Nangloi. Constable Sandeep was on his routine patrol. On duty but dressed in civilian clothes due to increased cases of burglary in the area, Sandeep was traveling towards the railways road from Nangloi Police Station at 2am.

He stopped after spotting a suspiciously parked car in the railway parking lot and confronted the occupants. "He allegedly objected to two men drinking in their car in the railway yard parking lot. The constable instructed the duo to immediately leave for their residence from there. The suspects named Dharmender and Rajnish vehemently refused. An altercation ensued," said a senior cop.

Constable Sandeep admonished him and threatened to initiate legal action against him at his residence, compelling him to vacate the premises. Dharmendra was incensed by this incident. The accused began driving ahead in the car, and the constable pursued him on a motorcycle. Upon exiting the area, the accused halted outside the street of Veena Enclave and awaited Constable Sandeep's arrival. The residence of the accused is situated at some distance from this location.

The murder was captured on CCTV camera and the footage confirms that the cop was mowed down without any provocation.

At 2.15am, the car reached the street's exterior, reversed slightly and stopped on the side. At 2.16am, when Constable Sandeep approached on a motorcycle and started heading towards the accused's house, the accused tailed him and swiftly ran over him, the footage shows. Upon impact, Sandeep released the motorcycle's handle, his legs were thrust into the air, and he collapsed onto the bike. Subsequently, when the Wagon R car collided with another vehicle, the cop was sandwiched between the suspects' car and another vehicle.

Despite being rushed to Sonia Hospital and later transferred to Balaji Hospital in Paschim Vihar, he succumbed to his injuries. His body was handed over to the family after the autopsy.

The case, however, became even murkier after the content of the police diary entry surfaced on Sunday noon. Though cops were quick to refute a 'mafia angle' behind the incident, their own diary entry that surfaced on Sunday noon seemed to narrate a different story.

"Gadi number DL 1C AA 76** ne hit kiya hai.. Murder hai..," reads the entry lodged by local police. The diary entry, accessed by TOI, talks about a man named Jangra, a liquor supplier, being involved. "The car owner goes by the surname Jangra..He has a liquor business... Was pressuring to get work done," reads the cryptic entry.

The diary entry also talks about another cop, Khushi Ram from Ranhola police station being at the spot besides two companions on the bike.

On liquor mafia, police claimed: "It is clarified that so far no mafia angle has come into light. A murder case has been registered under section 103 of the BNS."

The cops didn't comment on the diary entry. An officer said that they would be able to comment on this only after the second suspect, who is also the prime accused, is interrogated and his version corroborated.