delhi

Updated: Jul 15, 2019 08:08 IST

A thick bulletproof vest proved to be the difference between life and death for two Delhi Police special cell officers during a shoot-out with alleged gangsters in west Delhi’s Vikaspuri on Saturday night, police said.

The encounter left two alleged gangsters, identified as Deepak and Rahul, both members of the notorious Surya gang, injured. The Surya gang, police said, had been extorting people in the recent months.

On Saturday night, the gang members allegedly were on their way to murder a west Delhi businessman who had refused to give in to their extortion demand and had instead approached the police, said Sanjeev Yadav, deputy commissioner of police (special cell).

The two officers injured in the encounter were identified as inspector Sanjeev Yadav, 47, and sub-inspector Gopal, 31, both of who specialise in tracking down the city’s gangsters.

The duo was hit once in their chests, but were saved by their bulletproof vests. Sub-inspector Gopal retaliated by shooting and injuring Rahul in both his legs while inspector Sanjeev Yadav managed to shoot Deepak in his leg.

The police said they were acting on a tip-off received by SI Gopal that four members of the Surya gang would be arriving in Vikaspuri to carry out the businessman’s killing.

Apart from several counts of extortion and attempt to murder, the Surya gang was also allegedly involved in gunning down Amit Kochchar, a Vikaspuri resident, outside his house on June 13 after he refused to heed to their extortion demands.

The police team spotted the four suspects in a white Honda City car.

“When we intercepted them, the occupants of the car began firing at us. One shot by Rahul hit my bullet-proof vest and I immediately fired back in self-defence and hit him once,” said SI Gopal who was earlier involved in a similar operation against the notorious Tillu gang in outer Delhi’s Alipur last September.

The shoot-out saw a total of 20 bullets being fired by both sides, 11 by the suspects and nine by the police.