Harinder Pradhan allegedly had a builder killed over a property dispute (Representational)
A gangster, wanted in Uttar Pradesh for the murder of a Ghaziabad-based builder, was arrested by the Delhi Police today, after a brief encounter. Harinder Pradhan allegedly had a builder, Moti Goyal, killed over a property dispute in Noida. Pradhan was arrested after police teams tried to stop his car but it sped away and hit barricades in south Delhi's Pul-Prahaladpur at the Mehrauli-Badarpur road. Pradhan had hired two contract killers to carry out the murder of the builder, a top police official said according to news agency IANS.
"We received a tip-off that Pradhan would be heading towards MB road. When stopped,
Pradhan started firing at the police," said Deputy Police Commissioner Chinmoy Biswal.
Two police personnel were admitted to the AIIMS Trauma Centre with non life threatening injuries.
A pistol and carbine were also seized.
After assuming power last year, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had vowed to rid the state of criminal elements. He had warned gangsters to leave the state.
According to official data released by the Uttar Pradesh police, there have been 1,144
encounters in the state between March 20, 2017 and January 31, 2018.
As a result of these encounters, 34 criminals have been killed, and 2,744 others have been arrested throughout the state.
Four policemen also lost their lives and 247 cops were injured. The encounters took place in Agra, Meerut, Lucknow, Allahabad, Bareilly, Gorakhpur, Kanpur, and Varanasi.
Meerut topped the list, where 22 criminals have been killed, 155 were injured, and 985 were arrested as a result of 449 encounters.
(With Inputs From IANS)