UP cops corner dreaded dacoit, pull out for polls

For the first time in the last two decades, Uttar Pradesh police finally managed to shoot and injure dreaded dacoit Nirbhay Gujjar in a fier...

For the first time in the last two decades, Uttar Pradesh police finally managed to shoot and injure dreaded dacoit Nirbhay Gujjar in a fierce encounter last night. But then, the badly cornered dacoit managed to escape as police chose to withdraw from the ravines today—they were pressed into service for the ongoing panchayat elections in Etawah.

‘‘We have searched the entire ravines but he could not be found. We are now hoping to get him when he comes out of the ravines for medical treatment as our bullets have injured him. Today, however, it was a flop operation as we had to withdraw from the ravines due to the election requirements,’’ SSP (Etawah) Daljit Singh Choudhary told The Indian Express today.

Earlier this week, Madhya Pradesh CM Babulal Gaur and UP CM Mulayam Singh Yadav had jointly said that the ‘‘surrender policy for dacoits will be done away with.’’ This came after Nirbhay, the most wanted dacoit in the region, gave interviews to TV channels in August, claiming to enjoy close ties with the UP CM. He had said that he would surrender if granted political asylum.

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Two of Nirbhay’s men were killed in today’s encounter. ‘‘We got information that he was hiding near Dariya ravines in Etawah. We cordoned the area and spotted the gang as the police team was crossing the Quari river. We managed to shoot Nirbhay. He was bleeding profusely but managed to escape,’’ Chaudhary said.

UP police, however, claims that the gang is very weakened now with just a dozen men with Nirbhay.

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