Noida police arrest 3 history-sheeters after encounter

Two criminals, wanted in at least a dozen of robbery cases and those related to the Arms Act in the district, were arrested by the Gautam Buddh Nagar police, after

Two criminals, wanted in at least a dozen of robbery cases and those related to the Arms Act in the district, were arrested by the Gautam Buddh Nagar police, after an encounter in Maicha under the Dadri police station on Saturday late evening.

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The police have also arrested another gang member involved in looting truck drivers at the Peripheral Road. The other had managed to escape to Dayanagar village under Jarcha police station on Sunday.

GB Nagar commissioner of police (CP) Alok Singh said that despite drastic fall in crime rate in the district in the recent past, the police have been conducting continuous raids to nab history-sheeters. “Acting on a tip-off, the police team intercepted four motorcycle-borne criminals near the forest area of Maicha peripheral underpass. When the criminals started indiscriminate firing on the police, they had no option than to fire back. As a result, two of them suffered minor bullet injuries and were nabbed by the police team. Two countrymade pistols and live cartridges were recovered. One of the other two criminals, who had managed to escape, was also arrested with one .32-bore pistol and live bullets,” he said.

The arrested criminals have been identified as Ravinder Singh alias Rambhu, Sahil, who is known by his first name, and Jayveer Gujjar. While Ravinder and Sahil have been admitted to the district hospital by the police, Jayveer has been forwarded for judicial custody. “Ravinder and Sahil have been named accused in more than one dozen cases related to the Arms Act, attempt to murder, robbery and loot, lodged at different police stations of the district. Jayveer, too, is wanted in at least four cases of the same nature. Cash and mobile phones, looted by them, have also been recovered from their possession,” the official sources said.

According to the police, on the night of March 29, these criminals had snatched three mobile phones from a truck driver and his helper on the expressway. The truck driver Lokendra Singh said that he was going to Ghaziabad with some essential commodities when the truck broke down a few kilometres from the toll plaza. “I had parked the truck on the roadside when three criminals reached the spot and snatched my three mobile phones. They also smashed the windshield of the truck, when I resisted,” he said. The Dadri police have registered a case of robbery under Section 392 of the Indian Penal Code(IPC).

The police also recovered a stolen motorcycle from the suspects’ possession. The motorcycle owner, Khadak Singh, a resident of Rampur village, told the police that he had parked the motorcycle outside his house on May 1, when the suspects stole it and used it in committing crimes.

“We have recovered six stolen mobile phones, two countrymade guns, two live cartridges, and ₹6,600 in cash from their possession. The suspects were already wanted in cases of theft and robbery. They were produced in court and sent to judicial custody,” said the DCP Greater Noida Rajesh Kumar Singh. The police have launched a search for the absconding criminals.

The police chief said that with limited options to move around during the ongoing lockdown due to the Covid-19 outbreak, it is a good time for the Noida police to nab the most-wanted criminals and history-sheeters of the district. “Our boys are already on their heels. They are either enforcing the lockdown or conducting frequent raids to nab the criminals. We don’t want to give them any chance to give us a slip,” he said.

Singh also said that the police have also been keeping a close eye on the activities and physical locations of the criminals, who had recently been released on parole from Kasna district jail, as per the Covid-19 guidelines. “During this drive, it was found that out of 165 accused, who were released on parole, 15 were not present at their locations provided. Out of 98 accused named in different cases of loot and robbery in the district, 23 were found absent from their residential addresses provided to the jail and police authorities. Of these 23 accused,10 are from Noida zone, while nine and four are from central Noida and Greater Noida respectively. We are trying our best to send these absentee accused behind the bars again,” Singh said.