Ghaziabad: A 45-year-old alleged criminal carrying a reward of one lakh rupees over his arrest from the Uttar Pradesh Police, was gunned down on Wednesday evening during an exchange of fire with police at the Upper Ganga Canal road near Modinagar’s Niwari, the police officials said.
According to police, the deceased was identified as Dharmendra Kumar, alias Tiddi, originally from Amroha city in Uttar Pradesh who was presently residing in Bharatpur district of Rajasthan.
The suspect carried a reward of ₹50,000 each from the Ghaziabad, and Baghpat districts in western Uttar Pradesh, said police officials, adding that he had as many as 17 cases of robberies, thefts, and the Gangsters Act against his name in the two districts.
Police managed to trace him following a tip off about him visiting the Upper Ganga Canal on a motorcycle.
“The police personnel had put up checks near the Upper Ganga Canal upon information that the deceased (Kumar) along with his two accomplices were headed towards the canal. After their motorcycle was spotted with three riders, the police team waved them to stop. But they attempted to flee on the canal road towards Meerut,” Piyush Kumar Singh, additional deputy commissioner of police (ADCP) (crime) said.
Officials said the suspects’ motorcycle slipped, and suddenly all the three opened fired at the police personnel.
“Three head constables sustained injuries during the firing from the suspects, while a bullet each hit the bulletproof jacket of one sub-inspector and a head constable. Upon this, the police opened retaliatory fire, which led to one of the three suspects being injured. Two suspects fled the spot amid cover of darkness. The injured, however, was taken to a hospital, where he was declared dead,” ADCP Singh said.
The injured policemen were also admitted to hospital, and they are stable, he added.
Police recovered two pistols and two magazines, besides live and spent cartridges, while the suspects’ motorcycle was also seized, officials said.