An Special Task Force (STF) personnel was killed, while two alleged criminals were shot dead during an encounter between police and armed suspects in Motihari district of Bihar early on Tuesday, police said.
The gunfight took place around 2.30am in Ramdihah village under the Chakia police station area. The martyred STF personnel has been identified as Shriram Yadav, the police said.
The two accused killed in the encounter were identified as Kundan Thakur and Priyanshu Dubey, both residents of the Chakia police station area. Police said both had cases registered against them under the Arms Act.
Director General (Operations) Kundan Krishan said gangster Kundan Thakur was a resident of Chakia in Motihari, while Priyanshu Kumar Dubey was a native of Sahebganj in Muzaffarpur. Two of their associates, Ujjawal Kumar Tiwari and Sant Kumar Tiwari, were arrested and are being interrogated. A carbine, two countrymade pistols and a revolver were recovered from the spot, the DG (Operations) said.
According to senior officials of the police headquarters, the operation began after the suspects allegedly called the additional SHO of Chakia police station and issued threats.
The call was reportedly made from a Nepal-based number. During the conversation, the callers allegedly introduced themselves and threatened that the next news report would talk about the deaths of police personnel.
Following the call, the police began tracing the number and soon located the suspects’ position. A joint team of local police and the Special Task Force reached the identified location in Ramdihah village to conduct the operation.
Police officials said that when the team attempted to surround the suspects, Thakur and Dubey opened fire on the police personnel. The police retaliated, leading to an exchange of gunfire between the two sides for several minutes.
In the retaliatory firing, both suspects were shot and killed. However, some of their associates managed to escape from the spot. Police recovered a carbine, two pistols and a country-made revolver from them.
During the exchange of fire, STF personnel Shriram Yadav sustained critical injuries. He was rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment, where doctors declared him dead. The news of his death triggered grief within the police department.
Senior police officials, including DIG Harkishore Rai and the Motihari superintendent of police, reached the encounter site soon after the incident. A massive search operation has been launched in the surrounding areas to trace and arrest the absconding criminals.
Police have also tightened security across the Chakia region following the encounter. The bodies of the two accused were sent to the hospital for post-mortem examination.
Officials said further investigation is underway and a detailed disclosure of the entire sequence of events will be made after the inquiry is completed.
Last year in March, two policemen, including an assistant sub-inspector, were killed in Araria.