It was supposed to be a routine posting for 31-year-old police constable Deepak Dahiya, but what transpired on Monday certainly wasn’t for the faint-hearted. Dahiya found himself staring down the barrel of a gun, pointed at him by a gunman later identified as one Shahrukh. A viral video of the incident showed Shahrukh pointing his gun at the unarmed constable, intimidating him and forcing him to back away before repeatedly firing in the air. What played on Delhi policeman’s mind in those few minutes, he tells News18 in a conversation.
Where were you and what happened?
I was positioned in Maujpur. We were sent there since the situation was tense and we needed boots on the ground. People were sloganeering and there wasn’t much trouble till the time we saw a crowd of men rush towards us. They were coming aggressively towards us and we were also forced to move forward by them.
Then suddenly stone pelting started in the direction where I was standing. In the midst of all this, we heard gun shots. As I moved to the other side, I saw a man in a dark coloured sweater walking towards me. I tried to divert his attention so that he wouldn’t fire in any other direction.
He said I will shoot you. I kept screaming at him and even tried threatening him. Told him if you fire you will not go alive from here. We will kill you right here. My only worry was no person between him and I should be shot. If anyone in the middle would have gotten hurt, I wouldn’t have been able to forgive myself.
What were you thinking in those few minutes?
The only thing I told myself I have put here to ensure safety of people. People should not get hurt in any circumstance. This is all I was thinking.
Where did he disappear? Why didn’t you choose to chase him?
The boy ran in the opposite direction. There were a lot of people with him and they were indulging in heavy stone pelting. If we tried chasing them, that would’ve been suicidal. He suddenly just disappeared into the crowd.
Are you upset that he still hasn’t been nabbed?
That’s for the police to investigate, I am not privy to any details.
What has been the kind of mental strengthening that is needed by anyone for facing this kind of situation?
During our training we have been prepared for all kind of situations. What is told to us is that we need to do whatever possible in our ability to minimise damage to life and property. You are told to work in the people’s interest first.
A lot of people are comparing you to on-screen cop roles like ‘’Singham”.
That’s different. Film stars have a different aura. But real life situations are entirely different. There are no retakes in real life.
How did your family react when your family discovered this?
My wife was pretty scared. They initially couldn’t make out it was me till my pictures were put on social media. I spoke to her while she was struggling to speak. I have two daughters, one 5-year-old and the other 90-day-old, so naturally she was pretty anxious. Once I spoke to her, she was fine. My father was very composed.
What did your father tell you?
My father was as proud of me as anyone else. He told me well done, and keep serving the nation like this. That meant a lot to me.
We hear your family has been in forces for generations now. Tell us more about it?
I came to Delhi in 2010 as a constable and have just completed my B1 exams and I am currently training for Head Constable post in Wazirabad. My grandfather was with forces. My father retired as a coast guard. My brother is also with Delhi police.
Would you still feel that should you face another situation like this your response will be same?
I am prepared to face all situations in the line of duty. In fact, I hope and pray both my children also join the police force or become IAS officers and assume some role in public service.
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