Mumbai: Cop shoots senior, kills self inside police station

mangaloretoday.com

Mumbai, May 03: An assistant sub-inspector (ASI) of Mumbai police shot dead a senior inspector before turning the gun on himself after a heated argument inside the police station, police officials said on Sunday.

While senior inspector Vilas Joshi died late on Saturday at Lilavati Hospital in Bandra, ASI Dilip Shirke died on the spot. A wireless operator, Balasaheb Aher, was injured in the incident.

 

 

The police said the incident took place at 8.30pm at the police station at Vakola in suburban Mumbai, when Joshi was walking out of his cabin to go home.

Mumbai police commissioner Rakesh Maria, who visited the police station, said, “Shirke was absent on Friday. He was assigned duty in the night and when the night inspector went to check on him at 2.30am and later at 6.30am, Shirke was not there. On Saturday, Shirke walked into Joshi’s chamber and had an argument with him, claiming he was on duty on Friday.”

Sources said during the argument, senior officers present in the station allegedly used abusive language, which enraged Shirke. He fired at least five rounds, of which three hit Joshi’s back and abdomen and one hit Aher’s thigh, the police said.

The statements of those who were at the station will be recorded and an investigation will be conducted by the unit VIII of the crime branch, the police said.

“He [Joshi] sustained injuries on his upper abdomen and was operated upon by doctors. The other police officer is stable and sustained a bullet injury on his leg. He has been admitted to the orthopaedic ward,” said a doctor from the hospital.

Dr Jalil Parker, under whom Joshi was admitted, had earlier said, “He came in with multiple wounds to the abdomen. We revived him and surgeons were going to operate on him immediately.”

Senior officials, including Mumbai police commissioner Rakesh Maria, joint commissioner (law and order) Deven Bharti, along with deputy police commissioner Mohan Dahikar and crime branch officers of unit VIII visited the station where the incident occurred.