Four 'wanted criminals' held after encounter with police in Gurgaon

Four "wanted criminals" were arrested after an encounter with police here on Wednesday, police said.

The Crime Branch, Palam Vihar, received a tip-off about four criminals in an SUV planning to commit crime in the posh DLF area, following which a team was deputed to nab them, PRO, Gurgaon Police, Subhash Bokan said.

"A crime team led by Inspector Bijender Hooda, along with a local police team, chased the SUV but criminals sped away towards Daulatabad. They were later intercepted at Daulatabad Chowk when their car got stuck in a pit. They were asked to surrender but the criminals fired at the police party in a bid to evade arrest," he said.

The policemen retaliated and in retaliatory firing three among the criminals suffered bullet injuries, Bokan said, adding one was nabbed.

He said over a dozen gunshots were fired from both the sides during the encounter, which took place in the early hours of Wednesday.

The three injured have been identified as Lokesh, a resident of Delhi's Najafgarh, Pradeep, a resident of Jhajjar, Haryana, and Neeraj, a resident of Sonepat, the PRO said.

The fourth has been identified as Jasbir, he added.

"The accused persons were indulged in over two dozens cases of murder and loot. Four pistols, an SUV and 25 live cartridges were recovered from their possession," Bokan said.

Lokesh was carrying a reward of Rs 1 lakh on his head, announced by the Delhi Police, while Neeraj was carrying a reward of Rs 50 thousand on his arrest, he said.

The four were involved in a murder case in Delhi's Kapashera. They were also involved in the killing of a man in Vikaspuri, Bokan said.

The criminals were involved in murders, kidnapping for ransom, auto-lifting, the PRO added.

The three injured are undergoing treatment at Delhi's Safdarjung hospital, he said.