UP: Three murder accused arrested in police encounter

Three men allegedly involved in the murder of a woman were arrested after a shootout with the police here early Tuesday, officials said.

The trio also got injured in the encounter.

Additional Superintendent of Police Akhand Pratap Singh said the gunfight broke out in the Akhandnagar police station area.

“The body of an unidentified woman was found in Gosainganj area on September 21. A postmortem examination revealed that the cause of death was asphyxiation. Subsequent investigations identified the victim as Priyanka, who had been reported missing at the Kadiyapur police station on June 1,” he said.

“Investigative efforts uncovered that four individuals — Salman, Shahanshah, Sarwar and Javed — were involved in the murder. Salman had a prior acquaintance with the victim, having travelled to Mumbai with her,” he said.

After returning, she confronted Salman in the Gosainganj area about a potential marriage dispute, threatening to send him and his accomplices to jail, the officer said.

This prompted the group to conspire against her, ultimately leading to her murder on September 20, he added.

“During the investigation, Shahanshah was apprehended, and on Tuesday morning, police teams were deployed in the Akhandnagar area to arrest the remaining three suspects,” Singh said.

“In the ensuing pursuit, the accused opened fire on the police, who retaliated. All three suspects sustained gunshot wounds and were subsequently taken into custody and sent to a hospital for treatment,” he said.

Further legal proceedings in the case are being carried out, the police said.