In a joint operation, the Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh police arrested four members of the dreaded Babuli Kol gang after exchange of fire for two hours in the wee hours of Saturday.
All the four injured dacoits were later admitted to hospital while a combing operation was launched to nab the gang leader, who managed to escape with other members of his gang.
Reports said that the Chitrakoot police, along with the anti-dacoit squad of Madhya Pradesh police, started a search operation in the jungles of Lakhanpur, falling in Chitrakoot (UP) and Rewa (MP), after learning about the presence of dacoit Babuli Kol and his gang members there late on Friday night.
The cops got success when in the wee hours of Saturday they spotted the gang and challenged it to surrender. However, the dacoits started firing and the cops also retaliated.
After the firing stopped, the cops moved forward and found four dacoits lying injured. While two had received bullet injuries, the other two were injured after falling from the hill while trying to flee. The cops also recovered a 315 bore rifle along with cartridges and eatables in large-scale from the spot.
The police shifted the injured dacoits to the hospital where they revealed their identities as Munna, Langada, Lavkush and Amit aka Lalla, all hailing from Markundi locality of Chitrakoot.