Two of the absconding accused in a chain-snatching case from Etawah in Uttar Pradesh were shot dead in an alleged encounter during an operation by the Etawah and Firozabad police in Shikohabad on Friday.
The chase in broad daylight began from Shikohabad railway station in Firozabad district, and ending in agricultural fields of the village. Two policemen were injured in firing by the accused who allegedly had abducted a child too, as per officials.
Police from Etawah had reached the Shikohabad railway station on information that accused were in process of moving to Jharkhand. Cops them chased the accused amidst exchange of fire.
Additional director general (ADG), Agra zone, SK Bhagat along with DIG Shailesh Pandey, Firozabad SSP and Etawah SSP reached the spot while the encounter was on, and later ADG Bhagat interacted with the media.
“‘The matter relates to crime of chain-snatching committed in Etawah on July 3. Etawah police arrested one person and was tracking the others when it got information through surveillance that those wanted were in a train heading for Jharkhand on Friday,” the officer said.
How chase began
{{/usCountry}}“‘The matter relates to crime of chain-snatching committed in Etawah on July 3. Etawah police arrested one person and was tracking the others when it got information through surveillance that those wanted were in a train heading for Jharkhand on Friday,” the officer said.
How chase began
{{/usCountry}}“The SOG (Special Operation Group) and surveillance team of Etawah police reached Shikohabad railway station of nearby Firozabad district while the train was crossing the station. Finding the police at the station, the accused got off the train and attempted to flee, but were challenged by police,” he further said.
The accused men found themselves cornered but were unwilling to surrender and even took a child hostage, asking the police to retreat, he added.
They abandoned the child and snatched a motorcycle to flee, while Etawah police chased them.
Shots fired by bike-borne accused
As the pillion rider kept firing, two policemen were injured, one in the stomach and the other on a shoulder, informed the officer. They were taken to a local hospital and the one who got shot in the stomach has been referred to a higher medical centre in Agra, said Bhagat.
In the chase, the two accused men abandoned the motorcycle and got inside a primary school's.
There, classes were still on. There was fear they could take students hostage, but the men chose to keep running as they were located by cops, who outnumbered them, the officer said.
They eventually entered a farm where tall crops provided cover. There, the cops from Etawah shot one of the men, while cops from Firozabad arrived on the scene and the second man was shot too.
ADG Bhagat applauded the policemen who continued the chase “with exemplary courage without getting disturbed by injury to fellow cops”.
Both accused were from Bhartana area in Etawah, and had a criminal past, said Bhagat. They were identified as Sumit and Ankit, aged between 25 amnd 30, said Shekhar Senger, the deputy SP for Shikohabad circle of Firozabad district.