PRAYAGRAJ: Arbaaz (24), an accused in Friday's murder of Umesh Pal and his police gunner, was shot and killed by the police in an exchange of fire near Nehru Park here on Monday afternoon. An SHO was injured in the exchange of fire and admitted to SRN Hospital. Police also arrested an LLB student for his role in the incident.
The slain criminal was said to be a close associate of mafia don-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and carried a cash reward of Rs 50,000 on his head. He was a resident of Puramufti, Kaushambi district, police said.
Commissioner of police (Prayagraj) Ramit Sharma said, "A joint team of the Special Operations Group (SOG) and the Dhoomanganj and Shankargarh police forces received inputs about the movement of a wanted criminal in connection with Friday's shootout and cordoned off the area near Nehru Park. On seeing the wanted criminal, Arbaaz, the police team told him to stop. However, he immediately opened fire at the police team. The police returned fire, injuring Arbaaz. He was rushed to SRN Hospital where doctors declared him brought dead."
"Arbaaz was involved in the Umesh Pal killing, we are compiling more details about him," he said, adding that SHO (Dhoomanganj) Rajesh Maurya was injured in the firing and is being treated at SRN Hospital. A motorcycle without a registration plate and a.32 pistol along with four live cartridges and six used cartridges have been recovered from the spot.
The police commissioner claimed that Arbaaz was the same person who was driving the SUV in the attack on Umesh Pal and helped the assailants escape from the attack site.
Kapil Dixit is a graduate of the Indian Institute of Mass Communi...
Read MoreKapil Dixit is a graduate of the Indian Institute of Mass Communications. He has covered crime at regional as well as state level. His hobbies include reading, writing and meeting people with diverse interests.
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