Another escapee from prison van in Sambhal gunned down

A notorious criminal Shakeel, who along with two others had escaped after killing two police constables in Sambhal district on July 17, was gunned down in an encounter in Sambhal on Sunday afternoon, police officials said.

Earlier on July 20, another escapee named Kamal was gunned down in an encounter in Amroha. The third escapee named Dharampal is still at large.

Inspector general (IG) of police, law and order Praveen Kumar said Shakeel, who carried a reward of ₹ 2.5 lakh on his head, was killed in an encounter with Sambhal police near Molanpur jungle area, under Rampura police station limits.

He said Shakeel was killed in retaliatory firing by a police team when they surrounded him at a deserted place nearly 25 days after his escape. He said the police have recovered two pistols, one country made firearm and several cartridges from his possession.

Kumar said two constables were also injured in firing by the criminal and were undergoing treatment at a local hospital.

He said Shakeel had 14 criminal cases of loot, extortion, murder etc against him in Sambhal and Moradabad while Dharampal had seven cases and Kamal three.

“Police teams are searching for Dharampal,” he said.

The IG said Shakeel, Dharampal and Kamal had escaped after throwing chilli powder in the eyes of police personnel guarding them and 21 others while being transported in a prison van from Chandausi court in Sambhal to Moradabad after their court appearances at around 5.15 pm on July 17.

He said the trio shot dead two police constables, Brijpal and Harendra Kumar, on facing resistance from them and took away one of their rifles.

He said the three escapees were likely to be convicted in murder and kidnapping case registered against them in 2011 and added that they were well aware that all witnesses had recorded their statements to testify their involvement in their crime. They planned the escape fearing conviction in the cases, he added.