Murder accused injured during encounter in Bihar's Jehanabad

An individual accused of the murder of a young man in Dedhsaiya village of Jehanabad, Bihar, was injured during an encounter on late Thursday night.

The individual accused of the murder of a young man in Dedhsaiya village of Jehanabad, Bihar, was injured during an encounter on late Thursday night. The prime accused in the murder case of Deepak Sharma, identified as Vikku Singh, alias 'Ravan', sustained a gunshot wound to the leg during the police encounter.

The Jehanabad Police conducted a late-night encounter. The exchange of fire took place near the Duryari Canal, under the jurisdiction of the Ghosi Police Station in Jehanabad. According to the police, following his arrest, the accused opened fire on the police team while they were attempting to recover the weapon used in the murder; in the ensuing retaliatory fire by the police, the accused sustained a gunshot wound to the leg.

Earlier, on Monday night, a young man named Deepak Sharma was shot dead near Dedhsaiya, under the jurisdiction of the Bhelawar Police Station in Jehanabad. Superintendent of Police (SP) Jehanabad, Aparajit Lohan, said the police received the information of a murder on May 19 within the Bhilawat Police Station limits. On May 21, the main accused, Vikku, was arrested by the Special Investigation Team headed by the Additional SP Headquarters and SDPO Sadar.

"Upon strict interrogation after his arrest, he revealed that he had hidden the weapon used in the murder near a canal within the Ghoshi Police Station limits. When he was taken to the location with the Ghoshi Police Station team for the recovery of the weapon, he initially misled them by taking them to two or three different spots," the SP said. Lohan added that upon interrogation, the accused took the officials to a third spot. Under the pretext of retrieving the weapon from the bushes, he opened fire at the police. In retaliatory police action, Vikku was shot in the leg.

"After further intense questioning, he led them to a third spot. As he went into the bushes to retrieve the hidden weapon, he seized the opportunity to take it out and fired at the police team. In the process, a bullet also hit the Ghoshi Police Station vehicle. In self-defence and in a controlled manner, the SIT team returned fire, resulting in the accused, Ravan, being shot in the leg. He was taken to the primary health centre in Ghoshi, from where he was referred to Sadar Hospital. Further action is being taken,' he said. The prime accused, injured in the late-night encounter, is currently undergoing treatment at the Jehanabad Sadar Hospital.

A probe is underway, and further details are awaited in the case. (ANI)