Wanted criminal held after police encounter in UP’s Saharanpur

Aman accused of executing robbery at a gas agency earlier this month was arrested on Saturday after an encounter with police in this district, officials said.

A policeman was also injured during the encounter, a senior official said.

An accomplice of the arrested accused managed to escape during the encounter in the early hours of Saturday.

The arrested accused, Deepak, was allegedly involved in the robbery at a gas agency on July 11. The police had also announced a reward of Rs 25,000 for the information leading to his arrest. Deepak had more than 20 cases registered against him at different police stations in the district, the official said.

Saharanpur Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Vipin Tada told PTI that SHOs of Nakud and Sarsawa police stations, Rajendra Prasad Vashisht and Sube Singh, laid siege to the Latifpur forest in the early hours of Saturday based on a tip off and tried to nab the two accused.

But they opened fire on the police team, which retaliated, the SSP said.

One of the accused, identified as Deepak, and constable Vipin were injured and have been admitted to district hospital.

Deepak’s accomplice Anki escaped and a hunt has been lodged to nab him, the SSP said.

A bike, a pistol, two empty cartridges and Rs 5,000 cash have been recovered from the accused, police said.

During interrogation, Deepak said he and his associate Shubham had executed the robbery on July 11.

Legal action is being taken against the accused, the SSP added.