Three cops injured after ‘shootouts’ in Gzb, 4 nabbed

GHAZIABAD: Four men— two of whom are vehicle lifters with a criminal background—and three police personnel were injured in a series of three encounters in Ghaziabad which took place late on Saturday night.

The shootouts took place within a span of one-and-a-half hours in Raj Nagar Extension (RNE), Vijay Nagar and near Wave City, NH-24, areas.

In the first incident at Raj Nagar Extension, police engaged with two armed robbers who had stolen a car from near river Hindon and fled towards Morta village. Having received information about the theft, police cornered them en route around 9pm.

Police and robbers exchanged fire in which constable Sachin Kumar was injured. The two robbers were also injured and arrested. Identified as Ravindra from Gautam Budh Nagar and Raman from Kasganj, the two were later rushed to the hospital.

Around 10pm in Vijay Nagar, a police checking team tried to stop two bike-borne men who allegedly opened fire on the police team, injuring sub-inspector Mehkar Hussain’s hand. The police retaliated immediately and one of the two bike-borne assailants sustained a gunshot wound to his leg. The assailant, Hashmat, from Gautam Budh Nagar, was arrested and taken to a hospital, while his accomplice fled.

Nearly half an hour later, a police team from Masuri spotted a man on a bike near Wave City area, near NH-24, and asked him to stop. He allegedly opened fire at the police injuring police constable Shahid. The bike-borne assailant, Imran, was shot and injured during retaliatory firing. He was arrested and taken to the hospital. The police said the accused who was arrested from Masuri is the one who escaped from Vijay Nagar.