Criminal nabbed; cops suspect his involvement in Madiaon robbery

A bag containing a good amount of jewellery, some live cartridges and country-made weapons recovered from the arrested man, say police

LUCKNOW A criminal, said to be among those who held a trader couple hostage in their Madiaon home and robbed them of cash and jwellery worth lakhs two days ago, was arrested by the police after an encounter on Monday.

Some senior police officials said he was involved in the robbery at the trader couple’s house in a crowded residential locality in Madiaon (Pic for representation)

“A biker tried to evade cops when our team was carrying out a vehicle checking drive in Bhitauli. He lost balance when they tried to stop the bike. The man opened fire when the police tried to approach him. The rider suffered bullet injury in the crossfire,” said S Chinappa, DCP (North), who led the operation.

The rider, Pankaj Verma, was rushed to the hospital. A bag containing a good amount of jewellery, some live cartridges and country-made weapons were recovered from him. “We are, however, trying to establish his link with incidents reported in the past,” said the DCP.

However, some senior police officials said he was involved in the robbery at the trader couple’s house in a crowded residential locality in Madiaon. Three armed men posing as LMC employees had robbed cash and valuables worth several lakhs after holding the husband, wife and their two domestic helps hostage in the house.