In a major success, the cops of the Saharanpur police claimed to have gunned down a hardened gangster, Rahul Khatta, carrying a cash reward of Rs 2.5 lakh, in an encounter with the gang members on Friday afternoon. One of the close associate of Khatta was also killed while four other members managed to escape. The cops said to have recovered a SlR, three carbines and other weapons in large quantity from the spot. Senior police officers including SSP Saharanpur, Nitin Tewari, were present at the spot.
Giving details here on Friday evening, IG (law and Order), A Satish Ganesh said that that the cops of Saharanpur police were trailing behind the hardened criminal, Rahul Khatta, involved in at least over three dozen heinous crimes in Western UP and other adjoining states of Haryana, Uttrakhand and New Delhi. He said that the team members get a breakthrough when an electronic interception of a mobile revealed presence of the gang members between the jungles of Kishunpur and Ameta Chand localities of Saharanpur, on Friday afternoon. He said that a team led by local district police chief, Nitin Tewari, immediately cordoned off the entire area and also alerted the cops of the neighbouring Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts.
Ganesh said that the team members during search operation managed to trace down Khatta, present in the area along with five more of his gang members. However, as the police team tried to intercept them, the gangsters opened fire following which the cops also retaliated. He said that after several rounds of exchange of fire between the police and the criminals, which lasted more than half an hour, the cops moved forward and found two of the criminals lying in pool of blood while others managed to escape. They rushed both to hospital where they were pronounced dead upon arrival.
Ganesh said that while one of the slain gangster was identified as Rahul Khatta, the other one has been identified as Chintay, hailing from Kankarkhera in Meerut, carrying a cash reward of Rs 15,000. Khatta, a resident of of Khatta Prahaladpur area of Chandinagar in Bagpat, was a listed gangster of the district and was wanted by the police in over three dozen heinous crimes. Ganesh said that the police teams from Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, and Shamli districts had now launched a combing operation for the remaining criminals who managed to escape. Efforts were also on to identify whether the recovered weapons were looted after attacking police party or not.