Cop killer shot in dawn encounter

NEW DELHI: Just over a month after a cop was gunned down in northeast Delhi, the special cell of Delhi Police shot his killer in a high-voltage encounter in Sonia Vihar on Tuesday morning. Firoze Fauji, a notorious gangster active in Delhi, Ghaziabad and western UP, had 17 cases of murder, robbery and attempt to murder lodged against him. Fauji had shot constable Shivraj Tomar in a narrow alley of Jaffrabad, northeast Delhi, on July 14, police said.
The special commissioner of police (cell), S N Shrivastava, told TOI that Fauji was intercepted by a team, led by DCP Sanjeev Yadav, in northeast Delhi around 5am. "We had been tracking his movements and conducting raids. We finally received an input early Tuesday after which the operation was carried out. Fauji shot at one inspector-who was saved due to his bulletproof vest-and a police vehicle after which we fired in retaliation," Shrivastava said.
On July 14, Fauji and Bilauri were going on a bike when they were spotted by constable Tomar and flagged down. Both ran into an alley where a scuffle ensued during which Fauji shot Tomar. Fauji's shirt was torn in the process. He later called Bilauri, asking him to meet him in Loni where they bought a T-shirt and fled to Meerut. Fauji had been dodging at least six teams of Delhi Police since then.
TOI had first reported on July 30 that Fauji was the %man involved in the cop's murder and his aide and namesake, Firoze Bilauri, who accompanied him at the time of the murder, had been arrested.
DCP Yadav said a special team, comprising ACP Satyavir Singh and inspectors Manoj Dixit and Shiv Kumar, had been formed to nab the killer. "Initially, the case was blind. Several suspects were rounded up by the police but Fauji had not been identified. We deployed local sources and CCTV footage of the areas was obtained. The team stumbled on a footage from a shop which showed Fauji running away after the murder," Yadav said.
The cell then began to conduct raids and teams were sent to Haryana, UP, Rajasthan and Bangalore. Police got lucky when Fauji's aide, Bila8u8ri, was arrested on August 7. He co8n8firmed Fauji's involvement and provided clues.
"Finally, an input was received that Fauji would come to Sonia Vihar's Pushta road to meet his associate," Yadav said. Knowing his trigger-happy nature, the team members wore bulletproof jackets and armed themselves heavily with Glock pistols and Kalashnikovs. Yadav took the lead and a trap was laid at 4am.
Around 5am, a person was spotted on a RX 100 bike (UP 16A 0730) and was flagged down. "The team identified him as he approac8h8ed and asked him to surrender. However, he whipped out a pistol, asking the inspector to step back. When Shiv Kumar challenged him, Fauji shot him, aiming at the abdomen. However, Kumar was only thrown back by the impact due to his bulletproof vest. The second bullet hit the police Gypsy," Shrivastava said.
Now, the cops stepped back for cover and returned the fire. A bullet hit Fauji in the chest and he was seen falling to his side, sources said. The cops waited a few seconds to confirm if he was actually hurt and then took him to GTB Hospital where he was declared brought dead. The inspector was also taken to the hospital but he was discharged after first aid. Fauji's body was sent for postmortem. The number of bullets wh8ich hit him is not known yet.
The police control room was informed about the shootout and crime and forensic teams called in. An inquiry has been initiated and a case regarding the incident has been registered.
Constable Tomar's family told TOI they were happy that the killer had been punished.