Varanasi: In an encounter conducted by a joint team of Kerakat and Gaurabadshahpur police stations, with the cooperation of the SWAT/SOG and surveillance team, four hardened criminals, including an illegal arms smuggler and an inter-district robber, were arrested on Friday in Jaunpur district. The police seized three illegal pistols, 10 country-made pistols, shells/cartridges and two motorcycles from them.According to reports, the in-charge inspector of Kerakat, Arvind Kumar Pandey, along with the police team was conducting checking in view of maintaining peace and order for the Muharram festival. The police team received information from Gaurabadshahpur SHO that during checking at the Bagthari canal culvert, four miscreants riding on two motorcycles fired at them, and they were fleeing towards the Kerakat area. On this information, the Kerakat police team set up a cordon near the Mallupur canal culvert. When the motorcycles coming from the front were signalled to stop, the miscreants directly opened fire on the police team. In the retaliatory firing done by the police team, gang leader Shailesh Yadav, 27, was hit by a bullet in his left leg, due to which he fell down. The police team, also arrested the remaining three miscreants including Piyush Yadav, Karan Yadav and a juvenile offender. Shailesh was wanted in 16 cases of crime in Jaunpur, Ghazipur and Azamgarh districts.The injured miscreant was sent to the hospital in police custody. During interrogation, they admitted that they smuggle illegal arms. Further legal action is under way.
