The Ghaziabad Police arrested a wanted criminal after a dramatic midnight encounter on Thursday.
The gangster identified as Deepak Sharma, a resident of Muzaffarnagar in Western Uttar Pradesh, has a bounty of Rs 25,000 on his head. He is also wanted by Andhra Pradesh Police for robbing the State treasury and killing its security guard.
Superintendent of Police, (SP) City, Akash Tomar said police personnel deployed for routine checking at Kamla Nagar on Thursday night signalled a motorcycle with two men on it, to stop, but the driver sped away.
When the police gave chase, the two men opened fire on the police party.
The police team retaliated and the two were surrounded by the police at the end of a protracted gunfight in which about a dozen rounds were fired from both sides.
However, taking advantage of the dark, one of them succeeded in escaping from the spot while the other was arrested, the SP said.
The suspect was taken to Kavi Nagar Police Station where he was put to sustained questioning. During interrogation Deepak Sharma revealed his identity and confessed that he had been involved in several cases of robbery and murder in UP and Andhra Pradesh.
The Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) of Visakhapatnam had announced a reward of Rs 25,000 for his arrest.
The Andhra Pradesh police had succeeded in arresting Deepak Sharma’s accomplices who were involved in robbing the State treasury and killing a guard. However, Deepak alias Happy remained at large.
“During the screening of his crime record it was found that Deepak was involved in about a dozen cases in Western UP and Andhra Pradesh," added the SP City.
A motorcycle and a .32 calibre pistol along with three live cartridges were recovered from his possession along with Rs 35,000 in cash. The police are making efforts to arrest his accomplice also who gave them the slip on Thursday night.