LUCKNOW: In a dramatic turn of events in the early hours of Monday, a Punjab-based drug smuggler was arrested after being shot in the leg during a police encounter that followed a two-hour chase across Sonbhadra district.
The accused allegedly threw bundles of currency notes from his speeding car in an attempt to distract pursuing police personnel. While he was apprehended, his accomplice managed to escape under the cover of darkness.
According to Sonbhadra SP Abhishek Verma, the chase was led by teams from the Special Operations Group (SOG), Robertsganj police and Chopan police. The pursuit ended around 4.30 am in the Viranjua area under Rampur Barkonia police station limits.
As the suspect realised he was being followed, he allegedly began throwing bundles of Rs 100 notes from the vehicle to divert the attention of the police team. When the SOG team closed in, the suspects repeatedly rammed their vehicle into the police vehicle, causing damage to it.
Verma said that after the chase was disrupted near Salkhan due to the damaged police vehicle, a local resident, Pradeep Kumar Modanwal, immediately offered his personal car to the SOG team, enabling officers to continue the pursuit.
The smugglers also rammed Modanwal’s vehicle while trying to flee. By then, police teams from Chopan and Robertsganj had reached the spot and cordoned off the suspects' car.
Verma said the accused then jumped out of the vehicle and opened fire on the police team. In retaliatory action, one of the suspects, identified as Prince (27) from Ludhiana, Punjab, sustained a bullet injury to his leg and was apprehended. His accomplice escaped, prompting a combing operation to trace him.
Police rushed the injured suspect to hospital and recovered 3 kg of opium, 225 kg of doda (raw opium), Rs 50,000 in cash, a luxury car, a country-made pistol and cartridges. Verma said the total value of the seized items was estimated at Rs 58.75 lakh.
During initial interrogation, Prince revealed that his gang had procured the narcotics from Daltonganj in Jharkhand and was transporting them to Ludhiana for distribution. He admitted that the gang had used the same route two to three times in recent months to transport drug consignments.
Verma also announced a reward of Rs 10,000 for Modanwal for his timely assistance to the police team. The SOG team was awarded Rs 20,000.
Officials are coordinating with police in other districts of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and other states to verify the criminal history of Prince and his associates.
