Haryana's wanted criminal killed in Sonipat police encounter after jumping parole

A wanted criminal serving life sentences in 2 murder cases was killed in an encounter with Haryana Police in Sonipat on Sunday after allegedly opening fire on a police team attempting to arrest him.

According to police, Gopal, a resident of Atayal village in Sonipat district, was being tracked based on intelligence inputs that he was planning to target a rival. A joint team of the Crime Investigation Agency (CIA)-1 and CIA Ganaur launched an operation to apprehend him.

Police said Gopal fired indiscriminately at officers while trying to evade arrest. Two bullets struck police vehicles, while Head Constable Devender sustained a gunshot injury to his hand during the exchange of fire. The police team retaliated in self-defence, critically injuring the accused.

Both Gopal and the injured policeman were rushed to Khanpur Medical College and Hospital, where doctors declared Gopal dead. Head Constable Devender is undergoing treatment and is reported to be in stable condition.

Gopal had a long criminal record and was serving life sentences in connection with murder cases registered in 2010 and 2016. He was released on a 70-day parole in February this year but failed to surrender after the parole period ended.

Police alleged that while on parole, he was involved in several criminal activities, including arson, assault, vehicle theft and an attempted murder case. Authorities said the operation is part of Haryana Police's ongoing crackdown on organised crime.