A notorious criminal was on Tuesday accidentally shot dead by his accomplice during a failed abduction attempt in Narela.
According to the police, the incident took place when a group, of which the two were part, was trying to force a businessman into a Maruti Eeco car.
The deceased has been identified as Praveen Kumar from Haryana’s Sonepat. He was living in Swatantra Nagar near Narela. A police officer said Praveen was a listed “bad character” with the Narela police station.
The incident took place around 8 a.m. on Lampur Road, where the businessman, identified as 42-year-old Ramesh, runs a sanitary and hardware shop. Ramesh was outside the shop when Praveen and three others arrived there.
The person driving the car remained inside, while the three others, whose faces were covered, got down and overpowered Ramesh.
“The businessman, however, resisted and screamed for help. At this, one of the kidnappers took out a firearm and threatened him. He also fired in the air to scare Ramesh and force him inside the car,” said a police officer.
An undeterred Ramesh continued resisting and one of the kidnappers fired at him. However, Ramesh ducked and the bullet hit Praveen’s head instead. As some locals and Ramesh’s employees rushed for his help, the other criminals and drove away, leaving Praveen behind.
The police reached the spot and Praveen was taken to a hospital where he was declared brought dead.
The police have identified the other criminals involved in the abduction bid, but have not been able to identify the car.
“The criminals had covered the car’s number plates with mud,” said a police officer.
The officer added that Ramesh had received an extortion call last year, but did not report it to the police.
