A dramatic encounter between police and two absconding miscreants has been reported from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. The two men were wanted in a robbery of Rs 7 lakh that had taken place a week earlier, and when police tried to intercept them, both sides opened fire. One of the miscreants was shot in the leg during the exchange and was arrested on the spot before being rushed to hospital, while his accomplice managed to flee under cover of darkness.
Encounter broke out during a checkpoint on Sunday night
The incident took place around 2 am on Sunday night. A joint team led by Chetganj police station in-charge VK Shukla and Ramnagar police station in-charge Sanjay Mishra had set up a barricade near the Bandargah area within Ramnagar police station limits and was checking suspicious vehicles. During the checking, two suspects riding a bike spotted the police and tried to speed away. When the team signalled them to stop, the miscreants instead opened fire directly at the officers. Police retaliated, and one of the miscreants was hit by a bullet in the leg. His companion took advantage of the darkness and escaped from the spot.
Injured accused identified, admitted to hospital
The miscreant who was shot has been identified as Akash Seth. After arresting him, police immediately admitted him to hospital for treatment. ADCP Kashi Zone Vaibhav Bangar reached the spot as soon as news of the encounter came in and briefed the media on the case.
Rs 7 lakh robbery had taken place in Teliyabagh a week earlier
According to ADCP Vaibhav Bangar, two miscreants on a bike had carried out a robbery of Rs 7 lakh in the Teliyabagh area under Chetganj police station a few days earlier. The entire incident had been captured on CCTV cameras installed in the area, and police had already identified both miscreants on the basis of that footage. Police had also received some crucial inputs about the duo through electronic surveillance. Acting on these leads, several teams were deployed to set up barricades and carry out search operations in different areas, which eventually led to Sunday night's encounter.
Rs 1.5 lakh of the robbery amount recovered from Akash
ADCP Vaibhav Bangar told the media that after the encounter, Akash Seth was searched and around Rs 1,50,000 out of the robbed amount was recovered from him. Police will now question Akash Seth further to trace the remaining money and locate his accomplice, who is still on the run. Residents in the area have expressed relief over the police action, while other miscreants active in the region are visibly rattled by the development.
