Criminal killed in encounter; 2 others including police officer injured in Dehradun

DEHRADUN: At least one criminal was killed, while two others, including the station house officer (SHO) of Dehradun’s Premnagar police station, were injured in an encounter during the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday in the Premnagar area. Police said the encounter took place after a man called the emergency police helpline on Wednesday night at around 10.30 pm, claiming that three criminals in a Gujarat-registered black car robbed him of his valuables, including a gold chain and Rs 2 lakh cash at gunpoint. He said they also fired at him, injuring him, after which he alerted the police. Dehradun SSP Pramendra Dobal said that acting on the complaint, a police team from Premnagar, led by SHO Naresh Rathore, went to the spot and then pursued the suspects based on the information provided by the injured complainant. “After spotting the car of the accused, when police asked them to stop, they opened fire at the team. SHO Rathore was hit by two bullets in his hand, after which police also fired in retaliation. One of the three criminals was hit by a bullet, while the remaining two managed to flee in the dark. Police later took all three injured, including the accused Akram, to hospital where he succumbed,” Dobal said. He further added that the injured SHO was shifted to a higher centre for better treatment. “Police are carrying out thorough checking at all exit and entry points of the city by putting up barricades to nab the two absconding criminals as soon as possible,” he said.