Toddler shot at while his relatives try out new pistol, 2 arrested

According to the police, the grandaunt initially lied to them to save her daughter-in-law. Two other members of the family, who allegedly bought the pistol and are also involved, are absconding.

The incident took place around 1 am on Saturday. The grandaunt, aged 47, initially said that she was walking home with her sister’s grandson from Shastri Nagar to Than Singh Nagar when two unknown bike riders shot at her near the Sarai Rohilla flyover. The bullet hit the boy in the shoulder.

The toddler was rushed to a hospital and underwent a surgery after he lost a lot of blood. A case of attempted murder was registered.

“We took the grandaunt’s statement and tried verifying the allegations, but there seemed to be some discrepancies. The team suspected the woman’s activities. We checked more than two dozen CCTVs in the area. Nobody was seen firing at the baby. The woman was also not seen in the footage,” said a senior police officer.

The team then visited the child’s grandmother and parents and made enquiries. Their statements differed from that of the complainant.

Sagar Singh Kalsi, DCP (North) said, “The woman was again questioned and she blamed a local behind the incident. We found that she was lying and she later confessed. The woman said her daughter-in-law, aged 20, accidentally fired at the baby boy while they were trying a new weapon at their home. We have recovered a blood-stained bedsheet from their home and the weapon used during the offence.”

Search is on to nab the woman’s absconding sons. The aunt and grandaunt have been arrested and booked under sections pertaining to criminal conspiracy and giving false information to a public servant. The accused family is mainly involved in petty street crimes and are history-sheeters, said the police.