Wanted criminal carrying bounty of Rs 1 lakh gunned down in Ghaziabad

Representational Image

Ghaziabad: Police on Wednesday gunned down a notorious criminal during a joint operation by the Ghaziabad police and Noida's Special Task Force (STF). Police said that the criminal carried a reward of Rs 1 lakh on his head.

The deceased, identified as Meharban, was wanted in more than 25 heinous cases. While the accused was gunned down two of his associates managed to escape.

"A routine checking was taking place at Bhopura area when a team of Noida STF reached the spot and said they had information that Meharban would be coming their way," a senior police officer in Ghaziabad said.

Police also spotted a Santro car coming from Delhi just after midnight.

"When we signalled it to stop, the driver of the car fired at us and sped away. Our team along with the STF unit chased them. After a while, their car got stuck near Loni area. But the miscreants kept firing at the police," said the officer.

The police fired back, wounding Meharban while his two associates escaped.

"In the encounter, two police personnel were also injured. All three were rushed to the hospital where Meherban was declared dead while the policemen are undergoing treatment," the officer said.

Head Constable Anil Kumar and Constable Hariom from STF Noida are said to be out of danger.

Maharban, son of Hazi Kallu, had cases registered against him in Bulandshahr, Gautam Budh Nagar and Ghaziabad.

Police recovered a 32 bore revolver with 10 live cartridges, a 12 bore country-made pistol with seven empty cartridges and 12 live cartridges and a 315 bore country-made pistol with four empty cartridges and seven live cartridges.

With inputs from IANS

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also, download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get the latest updates