Overview
- Police say joint teams traced the suspects during a district-wide checking drive and exchanged fire near a tubewell by the Khandrawali Culvert on Friday, after which the wounded accused was taken to Shamli district hospital and declared dead.
- The dead man was identified as Mehtab alias Baichen, a Kairana resident listed by police as a history-sheeter with about 33 cases and a Rs 50,000 reward announced by the Saharanpur range DIG.
- The police operation followed an alleged robbery and attempted murder around 3 a.m. on the Muzaffarnagar highway when two motorcycle-borne assailants tried to rob two brothers and opened fire after they resisted.
- Officers recovered the looted mobile phone, Rs 180, the victims’ motorcycle key, an unregistered motorcycle, a 9 mm pistol, a carbine and multiple cartridges, and said Mehtab’s accomplice escaped into nearby fields as searches continue.
- Authorities have launched combing operations and formal legal and forensic procedures at Kandhla and Adarsh Mandi stations as investigators pursue the absconding suspect and assess the encounter details.