delhi

Updated: Jan 06, 2016 13:00 IST

A Delhi police constable, posted with the anti-terrorist unit special cell, was killed when his assault AK-47 rifle accidentally went off during a raid in outer Delhi’s Rohini, police said. The fatal mishap occurred around 6 am on Wednesday when the constable, along with his team, raided a building in a congested residential colony in Rohini Sector 21 near Begampur.

Constable Anand Khatri, a resident of Najafgarh in Southwest Delhi, was part of the raiding party that went into the building to apprehend the suspect. The team nabbed Ashok alias Sonu Pandit from a first floor flat, Alok Kumar, joint commissioner of police (special cell) told Hindustan Times.

“While the constable was coming down (from the building) using a wall, he lost his balance and the AK-47 gun that was already cocked, accidentally went off. A bullet pierced his chin and made the exit from the head. He was rushed to Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital where doctors pronounced him dead on arrival,” Kumar said.

An autopsy will be conducted in the afternoon, after which Khatri’s body will be handed over to his family.

Senior special cell officers were shocked with the loss of the constable who had been posted in the unit just two months ago.

The team had managed to successfully apprehend Pandit who is an active member of the notorious Ravinder Bholu gang. Wanted in several cases of extortion, contract killing and other serious crimes, a cash reward of Rs 20, 000 had been announced as bounty for his arrest by police commissioner BS Bassi.