A fierce shootout broke out between police and two criminals in the Shikohabad police station area of Firozabad district, Uttar Pradesh, on Friday evening, leaving both men dead at the scene. Two personnel from the Etawah SOG were injured by gunfire during the exchange. As soon as word of the encounter spread, police cordoned off the surrounding area and launched a search in nearby fields to check whether any accomplice of the slain men had managed to flee. According to police, the two men opened fire first, the moment they realised they were surrounded.
The gunfight near Neem Khediya village
Police said the encounter took place close to Neem Khediya village, within the limits of Shikohabad police station. Both men killed were accused in a robbery case involving a doctor in Etawah. Police had already received intelligence that the duo was travelling toward the area by train. Once the tip was confirmed, a team began tracking their movements and following them. Realising they were boxed in, the two allegedly opened direct fire on the police party in an attempt to escape. Officers returned fire immediately. In the crossfire, Etawah SOG constables Pushpendra and David were hit by bullets, while the two accused were killed in the police's retaliatory firing.
Around a dozen criminal cases pending against the duo
Police records show close to a dozen criminal cases were registered against the two men, who had been on the wanted list for a long time. As soon as news of the encounter broke, Firozabad SSP Aditya Langhe and several other senior district officers rushed to the spot and personally oversaw the operation. Security forces were deployed and an intensive search was carried out across the neighbouring fields and villages. Various rumours also circulated in the area during this period, all of which police firmly denied. Officers clarified that reports of any children being taken hostage during the encounter were untrue, stressing that the incident was strictly a confrontation between police and the two criminals, with no harm to any civilian.
Injured officers under treatment as police gather evidence
Both wounded policemen were rushed to hospital, where they are being treated. Police teams are collecting evidence from the encounter site, and the search operation in surrounding villages is still underway to confirm whether a third person was present with the two men at the time. Uttar Pradesh police have gunned down several notorious criminals in similar encounters over the past few years. Figures that surfaced recently show the state has recorded more than 17,000 encounters over the last nine years, in which close to 300 criminals have been killed. Friday's shootout in Shikohabad adds to that long-running tally.
