Delhi: Gun goes off as SUV hits pothole, one killed

NEW DELHI: Three city youths go on a joyride in a Hyundai Creta and pose with a pistol to shoot a mobile clip for posting in a video-sharing app. The gun goes off and one of them is killed, leaving police with a whodunnit to solve.
The case kept cops at Barakhamba Road police station up all night after 19-yearold Salman was shot dead in his SUV at the Ranjit Singh flyover on late on Saturday.His two friends were the obvious suspects but none of them had a clear motive.
After dealing with conflicting versions, cops finally pieced together what caused the death — the gun went off accidentally when the Creta hit a bump on the flyover and the bullet hit Salman in his face, police said.
Friends mislead cops about gun
Earlier on Saturday evening, Salman had met two of his friends, Suhail and Aamir, at his house in Jafrabad, northeast Delhi. Around 9.30pm, the youth, who helped his father in his business, left home with the friends for a joyride in his Creta, police said.
Police said the three friends had decided to upload a clip of their joyride on the video-sharing app, TikTok. One of them was posing with the illegal pistol while the other was recording it on his mobile when the shot got fired as the vehicle hit a rough patch on the flyover.
The two youths panicked as Salman stopped responding and blood oozed out of the wound. The duo then drove to Daryaganj and alerted their acquaintances. Salman was taken to LNJP hospital where he was declared brought dead.
In the meantime, Suhail and Aamir absconded. They went to Jafrabad where they hid the pistol and disposed of the blood-stained clothes. Salman’s family had also reached the hospital by that time. They told cops — who had been alerted by the hospital staff — that Salman had gone out with two of his friends.
The cops then tracked the duo and brought them to the police station for questioning. The duo then took the cops on a wild goose chase by concocting different stories. Their initial claim was that Salman shot himself accidentally and later blamed each other. Suhail also claimed he had no idea who the weapon belonged to and whether it was loaded.
However, they broke down by Sunday morning in a twohour long interrogation by a police team led by DCP Madhur Verma and narrated the real story, police said.
While Suhail has been arrested for murder and destruction of evidence, Aamir has been arrested on the latter charge. Their third accomplice, Sharif, who helped them destroy evidence has also been arrested. Police have seized the pistol which Suhail had bought from a friend just a day ago. Cops are looking for the seller.