2 robbers held after encounter with police

Kanpur: Two robbers were arrested after an encounter with police in Naubasta police area on Sunday morning.Police said the two robbers-- Raju Verma and Rahul Sharma, were involved in cases of murder, robbery and theft across the state.The duo is also suspected to be behind several cases of loot and snatching in the city.Police said they received a tip-off that Raju and Rahul would be coming to Hanspuram Puliya no. 2 with their associates on Sunday morning to commit crime. Accordingly, a trap was laid.Later, two people were seen coming towards Puliya no. 2. They were signalled to stop but they tried to flee.Police chased them and blocked the way from both sides. On finding themselves cornered, they fired at the police, to which the cops retaliated. Raju, a resident of Para and Rahul of Chinhat Lucknow were hit in their legs. Police recovered two pistols and several live cartridges from them. Sub-inspector Shailendra Pandey, who was involved in the police action, suffered injuries after he slipped and fell on the ground.The police took both the criminals to the hospital. Raju has 17 cases of robbery, dacoity, gangster etc. registered against him. According to information, he is a history sheeter. At the same time, nearly seven cases are registered against Rahul Sharma for serious crimes like murder and theft. Commissioner of police BP Jogdand has announced a reward of Rs 50,000 to the policemen involved in the operation.