Robbery accused injured in police encounter in UP, 4 arrested

SULTANPUR: A man accused in a robbery case was injured in a police encounter and later arrested along with three others in UP's Sultanpur, police said on Saturday. According to Additional Superintendent of Police Brij Narayan Singh, police received a tip-off around 2.30 am that several suspects linked to a May 7 robbery had gathered to distribute the looted money. A joint team of local police and the Special Operations Group (SOG) reached the spot and surrounded the accused. Police said the suspects opened fire while trying to escape, leading the team to retaliate in self-defence. During the encounter, one of the accused, Pratik Bharti, suffered a bullet injury to his leg. He was admitted to the district hospital for treatment. Three others identified as Prince, Sufiyan and Anubhav were also taken into custody. Police recovered Rs 24,500 in cash and a motorcycle believed to have been used in the robbery. The case relates to a complaint filed on May 7 by microfinance collection agent Ramakrishna Vishwakarma, who alleged that he was robbed of Rs 32,000 at gunpoint.