A man wanted in connection with the hooch tragedy in Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar district, which claimed 16 lives, was arrested after a brief encounter with police early on Sunday, officials said.
The 21-year-old accused, Shivanjay Rajput, who carried a reward of Rs 30,000 for information leading to his arrest, suffered a gunshot wound to his leg during the encounter, officials said.
With his arrest, the number of people arrested in the spurious liquor case has risen to 19, police sources said.
Rajput allegedly fired three rounds at a police team during a search operation near the Kathua Nala forest area under Bahrol police station. Police personnel retaliated by firing two rounds, one of which hit Rajput in the leg, officials said.
He was subsequently arrested and taken to hospital for treatment. His condition was stable, Sagar police control room in-charge Sub-Inspector RKS Chauhan told PTI over the phone.
Rajput, a resident of Chhapri village under Banda police station in Sagar, had been absconding since the spurious liquor incident earlier this month that killed 16 people.
Police said he was allegedly involved in brewing the illicit liquor. A reward of Rs 30,000 had been announced for information leading to his arrest.
A country-made .315-bore pistol, three live cartridges, three empty cartridges, a mobile phone and a motorcycle were recovered from his possession, according to a police statement.
(With inputs from PTI)
