Alert local foils dacoity bid in Malihabad

LUCKNOW: After back-to-back strikes on the outskirts, a gang of dacoits reportedly targeted another house in Malihabad in the wee hours on Wednesday but fled after an alert local opened fire in the air.

Local people said at around 2 AM, the gang knocked on the door of one Zibran Khan’s house in Gallamandi locality, barely 500 metres from Malihabad police station. But Khan was extra cautious due to dacoities in four houses in Munshikheda and Sarawa villages in the same area on Tuesday and he opened fire with his licensed weapon.

Khan said at least a dozen suspicious people were present outside his house and they fled towards the farms and mango orchard when he fired. He said he immediately alerted his brother Zeeshan and other neighbours but by then, the gang had disappeared into the darkness.

Circle officer (CO) of Malihabad, PK Singh said the police team visited the spot but no signs of the gang’s presence and movement in the fields were found. He said it appeared that the locals gathered and opened fire on some apprehension. He, however, said it was good that people were alert and the police were ready to visit the spot if informed about movement of suspicious people.

To recall, in Malihabad, the dacoits looted four houses of Munshikheda and Sarawa villages when a team of police officials — led by additional director general (ADG), Lucknow Zone, Abhay Prasad — was camping within 2 km of the crime spot on