PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Rudrapur
The sharpshooter Jitendra Chaudhary alias Virat Chaudhary was injured in a police encounter on late Sunday night and later he was arrested along with two of his associates, while one accused escaped under the cover of darkness. Police claimed that the accused were planning to attack a rival gang when the encounter occurred.
Notably, a special team had been formed under the direction of the senior superintendent of police, Udham Singh Nagar, Ajay Ganpati following receipt of intelligence inputs that Jitendra, the main accused in the Gaba Chowk and Pulbhatta firing incidents, along with his associates, was planning to commit a major crime in the Dibdiba area. As per the inputs, they were travelling in a car sans a number plate. Upon receiving the information, the police set up a cordon near Jafarpur and attempted to stop the vehicle.
Police said that as the accused fled with the vehicle, they chased them. During the chase, the car collided with a barbed wire fence on a dirt road near Unity Law College and stopped. The accused then fled into fields and orchards, and, taking cover behind trees, opened fire on the police team. Police initially warned the accused to surrender, but when the firing continued, they resorted to retaliatory firing. In the encounter, the main accused, Jitendra was shot in the leg.
The injured accused, Sumit Rathore and Chandan Lal, were arrested at the scene, while Niranjan Takuli, alias Neeru Takuli, escaped. Police are now looking out for him, raiding several possible hideouts. The injured accused were admitted to the District Hospital, Rudrapur.
Police recovered three pistols (315 bore), eight live cartridges, two empty cartridges, the car they used and three mobile phones.
Police further said that Jitendra, a notorious sharpshooter, was wanted in several cases of attempted murder and assault aside from the Gaba Chowk and the Pulbhatta firing incidents. He has nearly a dozen criminal cases registered against him in various police stations in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, said the
SSP Ganpati, adding that strict action would continue against the gangsters.
