NEW DELHI: Head constable
Sanjeev Malik,
who was killed in Meerut in an alleged
road rage incident
on Tuesday, is fondly remembered by residents of Malviya Nagar where he served
as beat constable in a previous stint. In a heartwarming gesture, the colony's
RWA has stepped in to
raise money for Malik's family - his wife and two children aged six and
two.
Sanjeev Rao, president of the East Malviya Nagar RWA said he read
about the constable's death in TOI on Wednesday and immediately sent out an SMS
asking residents to contribute money. By late evening, the RWA collected Rs 1.38
lakh. With money still pouring in, it is confident of collecting over Rs 1.5
lakh by Thursday.
Malik, 36, was declared one of the best beat officers
in February 2011, when he was posted in Malviya Nagar. Residents remember as an
honest and efficient cop. "He was an upright man, helpful and pleasant," said
Rao.
"If a small association of 150 residents can collect so much money
in such little time, I am sure if more people contribute, a larger amount can be
collected. This is a small gesture to help a good man's family in this hour of
need," he said.
The south Delhi cops too hail Malik as an officer who
knew his job well. A specialist in collecting information about western UP-based
criminals, he earned praise when he joined the anti-auto theft wing of the south
district. He was also known to cultivate sources across NCR and was a good
analyser of mobile calls.
A day after the south Delhi special staff cop
died in a case of apparent road rage, questions are being raised over the Delhi
Police's version of events. The Meerut police, meanwhile, claimed that Malik may
have been killed elsewhere as no blood drops were found at the incident spot.
They added that just one .9mm cartridge shell was recovered from the
site.
Delhi Police denied the claim, saying at least six rounds were
fired at the cops by the miscreants. After a postmortem, Malik's body was handed
over to his family, which took it to his native village of Sarang in
Saharanpur.
According to sources, the Meerut Police is trying to find out
whether the presence of an informer - one Pankaj from Ghaziabad - in the car
along with the three Delhi Police cops had something to do with Malik's
death.
"Since the miscreants were in their Santro car, travelling in
opposite direction to the WagonR of the Delhi cops, it is likely that Pankaj was
identified. The attack could have been a ploy to draw out the Delhi cops and
then shoot at them, staging the entire incident as road rage. They had gone to
get a wanted car-lifter from Muzzafarnagar. When they checked the mobile
location of the accused, it showed he was at Khurja. The possibility that his
gang members are involved cannot be ruled out,'' said an officer accompanying
SSP (Meerut) S Satyanarayan.