The rising cases of encounters in Assam has become a major issue with the Opposition (Representational)
A drug peddler and two policemen were injured in a gunfight in Assam's Karimganj district on Saturday, the police said.
Acting on a tip-off, the police tried to arrest the drug dealer red-handed near the Bangladesh border, but he allegedly tried to escape by snatching the service pistol of a policeman, Superintendent of Police Padmanav Barua said.
The police opened fire and injured him. Two police personnel were also wounded in the exchange of fire, he said.
The drug dealer and the two injured policemen were admitted to the Silchar Medical College and Hospital.
At least 15 suspected terrorists and criminals have been shot dead by the police in encounters in Assam since May, while 26 others have been injured so far, officials said.
The rising number of encounters has become a major issue with the Opposition alleging that the state police has turned "trigger happy".
Unfazed by the criticism, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the state police has "full operational liberty" to take on criminals within the ambit of the law.