Wanted criminal gunned down in Ghaziabad

Ghaziabad, July 18 (IANS) A criminal who carried a reward of Rs 1 lakh on his head was gunned down in a joint operation by the Ghaziabad police and Noida's Special Task Force (STF) in Ghaziabad, police said on Thursday.

The dead man, identified as Meharban, was wanted in more than 25 heinous cases and was gunned down in Loni area after midnight Wednesday. Two of his associates managed to escape.

"A routine checking was taking place at Bhopura area when a team of Noida STF reached the spot and said they had information that Meharban would be coming their way, a senior police officer in Ghaziabad said.

Just after midnight. a Santro car was spotted coming from Delhi.

"When we signalled it to stop, the driver of the car fired at us and sped away. Our team along with the STF unit chased them. After a while their car got stuck near Loni area. But the miscreants kept firing at the police," said the officer.

The police fired back, wounding Meharban while his two associates escaped.

"In the encounter, two police personnel were also injured. All three were rushed to the hospital where Meherban was declared dead while the policemen are undergoing treatment," the officer said.

Head Constable Anil Kumar and Constable Hariom from STF Noida are said to be out of danger.

Maharban, son of Hazi Kallu, had cases registered against him in Bulandshahr, Gautam Budh Nagar and Ghaziabad.

Police recovered a 32 bore revolver with 10 live cartridges, a 12 bore country-made pistol with seven empty cartridges and 12 live cartridges and a 315 bore country made pistol with four empty cartridges and seven live cartridges.