Patna: Continuing its crackdown on crime, Patna Police arrested two criminals while injuring one of them in an encounter in the early hours of Monday.This is the third police encounter in Patna in past one month.The incident took place in Bhagwat Nagar area near the GAIL CNG fuel station on the highway close to Transport Nagar under Agamkuan police station area.The two criminals were involved in robbing and shooting at a govt school teacher on the morning of May 13 near Bhagwat Nagar Chowk. They snatched the teacher’s mobile phone and fired at him when he raised an alarm. The teacher sustained a bullet injury and is recovering in a hospital.The arrested criminals were identified as Sandeep alias Badal and his accomplice Prince. During the encounter, Sandeep sustained a bullet injury in the leg. He is currently undergoing treatment in a hospital under police custody, while Prince was taken into custody.SSP (Patna) Kartikeya K Sharma supervised the case along with City SP (East) Parichay Kumar. A team was formed to probe the case. The accused were identified through technical analysis, examination of CCTV footage and human intelligence.Talking to reporters, the SSP said, “A few days ago, a teacher was shot at during a robbery. A raid was conducted to apprehend one of the accused involved in the crime. On Sunday night, the police received information that Sandeep, who is a drug addict, had arrived at a hideout along with his accomplice to take drugs. When the police team reached the spot, the accused, who was under the influence of drugs, suddenly opened fire at the police, damaging the police vehicle. The police retaliated in self-defence, injuring the criminal in the leg. The injured accused was immediately shifted to a hospital for treatment.”Sharma added that Sandeep was involved in multiple robbery and other criminal cases. The motorcycle and firearm used in the May 13 incident were also recovered.This latest action follows earlier encounters in April and May. On April 22, police shot a jewellery robbery accused, Dilip Kumar, in the leg during an operation in Ramkrishna Nagar area. Another encounter on May 13 in Bihta left two notorious criminals — Awadhesh alias Videshiya and Pappu Rai — injured in the leg.
