Wanted gangster injured in police encounter

A 45-year-old gangster, wanted in around 70 criminal cases including murder, was injured in an encounter near Kajala Chowk on the Paradip-Daitary expressway near here Wednesday, police said.

Acting on a tip-off, police chased the gangster Bijoy Naik who was travelling on a motorcycle. When Naik suddenly opened fire, the police retaliated in self defence and nabbed him after a brief gun battle, said Pradeep Kumar Kanungo, an official of the special squad of the police.

An improvised Mouser gun, live cartridges and a motorcycle were seized from Naik's possession, he said.

Naik received gunshots on his left leg. He has been shifted to SCB medical College & Hospital in Cuttack where doctors have said that he is out of danger, police said.

Naik had mobilized a crime syndicate and had unleashed lawlessness in the area. He was involved in multiple criminal cases including murder, extortion, highway robbery, tender-fixing and illegal arms possession, police said.

Though Naik was a native of Chouriberhampur locality of Kendrapara town, he had impersonated as one Ganesh Das. A fake voter identity card and Aadhar card were also seized from him, they said.

Naik, a sharpshooter, had allegedly gunned down Malik Suleiman, a rival gang leader on July 30, 2009. He was nabbed in 2012 in Malik murder case. After a 6-month jail term, he was out on bail and had indulged in criminal activities by forming a separate gang.

He had formed a splinter group of criminals spread across Cuttack, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur, Puri, Sundargarh, Sambalpur and Khurda districts, police said.

Police were on the lookout for Naik since 2012.