Bike-borne robber shot and arrested after encounter in Vaishali

According to police, the incident took place around 8pm near Shopprix Mall in Vaishali. Two men broke the window of a parked car and tried to escape with a laptop kept inside the car.

In yet another incident of police taking on robbers in Ghaziabad, a 30-year-old man was shot and injured during an encounter with Ghaziabad police in Vaishali on Thursday night.

Police at the scene of the encounter on Thursday night. The Apache bike on which the men were riding was seized. One of the suspects managed to flee the police. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

A police constable sustained bullet injuries in the crossfire and was rushed for treatment.

According to police, the incident took place around 8pm near Shopprix Mall in Vaishali. Two men broke the window of a parked car and tried to escape with a laptop kept inside the car.

“The owner of the car raised the alarm and police teams deployed near the mall gave chase. The pillion rider took out a pistol and opened fire at the police team and one of our constables sustained a bullet injury to his shoulder,” said SC Dubey, station house officer, Indirapuram.

In the retaliatory fire by the police, the pillion rider sustained a bullet wound to his leg and fell along with the vehicle. In the melee that ensued, the second man fled while the injured one was taken into custody and rushed to a private hospital for treatment.

The police said the injured man was identified as Venkatesh, who hails from Chennai, and is presently staying at Madangir in Delhi.

“Ventakesh was taken into custody and the Apache bike was also seized. His wife is also lodged at Tihar jail in Delhi in a case of kidnapping. We are trying to ascertain his criminal history. We have also deployed teams to track the second accused,” Dubey said.

This is the third such encounter in Vaishali.

On November 13, a robber sustained a bullet injury during retaliatory firing by police near Vaishali metro station. This was after a duo barged into the jewellery shop and shot the owner during the robbery bid.

On October 25, a duo accused of robbing a cash collection agent at Noida’s Spice Mall, was chased and shot by police teams at Vaishali. During the incident, one man was injured in his leg and was arrested while the other fled the spot.