A 32-year-old Delhi Police constable with the anti-terrorist unit died after a bullet accidentally fired from his own AK-47 assault rifle pierced his jaw here on Wednesday morning during a raid conducted by his unit to arrest a criminal, police said.
Anand Khatri, who was transferred to the Special Cell around two months ago from the traffic police, suffered the injury around 5.40 a.m. in Rohini Sector 21 during the raid carried out to arrest Ashok alias Sonu Pandit, a member of the Ravinder Bholu gang.
Ashok was reportedly involved in half a dozen cases of murder, robbery and other crime. The 30-year-old Ashok, who carried a bounty of Rs.20,000 on his arrest, was arrested.
"Khatri accidentally shot himself with his own AK-47 rifle... He was rushed to a hospital where he was declared dead," Special Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Arvind Deep told IANS.
"Khatri lost control while scaling down a wall of the building which was raided by a team of our officers. The AK-47 he was carrying accidentally went off and a bullet pierced his jaw and came out through his head," the officer said.
He said Khatri was part of a team of Special Cell officers who carried out the raid. Khatri lived in west Delhi's Najafgarh area.