A Man was shot dead by three assailants inside a DTC bus plying between Baghpat and Delhi. The police said the accused reportedly boarded the bus from Baghpat along with the victim and allegedly shot him in front of the passengers and the bus staff.

The incident took place when the bus reached Mandola village near Loni in Ghaziabad. The deceased, Anil Kumar (35) was a clerk with a sugar corporation in Delhi. A resident of Baghpat, he was returning to Delhi from home.

The police said the accused threatened the bus conductor with dire consequences before firing at Kumar. “The assailants pointed a gun at the bus conductor and threatened the passengers against moving from their seats or raising an alarm. They shot Kumar and immediately got off the bus. Kumar was shot in the head, chest and leg and was declared dead on arrival at a nearby hospital,” said a senior police officer.

According to witnesses, the three assailants fled in a Maruti 800 which was following the DTC bus. “When the car reached the bus near Mandola village, the assailants killed Kumar, got off and fled in the car,” said Akhil Kumar, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Ghaziabad.

The police added that the other passengers were panic-stricken after the incident and immediately got off the bus. Police officers said Kumar had earlier lodged a complaint about facing a threat to his life with the district magistrate and SSP, Baghpat. He had named Sushil Pradhan, who is currently lodged in a Meerut prison. The police recovered bullets of a 9mm pistol from the spot.