Notorious criminal Bhikari Das was seriously injured in a police encounter on the Ganjua-Aruapalli road under the Gopalpur police limits in Ganjam district on Thursday night. Acting on a tipoff, a police team led by Gopalpur police station IIC Pragyan Paramita Jena raided the Ganjua-Aruapalli area where Bhikari and his four associates were hatching a plot to commit a crime in the area.
Seeing the cops, Das and his aides opened fire at the police, following which the police team retaliated. Das sustained bullet injuries in his left leg when the police opened two rounds of fire at him. However, the associates of Das fled away. The police also seized two tiffin bombs, a pistol and three live bullets from the spot.
Das was later admitted to the MKCG Medical College Hospital here. Search is on to nab the four absconding criminals, said Gopalpur PS ASI Rajendra Kumar Nayak.
With this, a total of seven encounters have taken place in both the Ganjam and Brahmapur police districts in the last two months.