One killed as police intercept suspected robbers in Solapur

An unidentified man was killed when the police fired in retaliation on a suspected gang of robbers travelling in a car in Maharashtra's Solapur district in the wee hours of Sunday, a local official said.

Three policemen were injured as the car's passengers, including the deceased man, attacked them, he said.

Solapur tehsil police station in-charge Vijay Patil and three other policemen stopped on suspicion a car with five or six men inside around 3.30 am near Ulegaon, 400 km from here, the official said.

The police found weapons such as swords and choppers inside the vehicle.

When they questioned the car's passengers, the latter stepped out and attacked the policemen with swords and pelted stones at them, the official said.

The policemen first fired in air and then fired at the assailants, injuring one of them, he said.

He later died in a hospital. Though his identity was yet to be established, he apparently belonged to the local Pardhi community, the police official said.

His companions fled from the spot leaving the car behind.

The police found weapons and tools used for house break-in inside the vehicle, which showed the assailants were planning a crime, said Solapur Superintendent of Police Manoj Patil.

Inspector Vijay Patil and two other policemen who were injured in the attack were undergoing treatment at a hospital, he added.