In 3 days, an encounter every 3.5 hours in Uttar Pradesh

Three back to back shootouts were reported from two areas of the city on Saturday evening in which two policemen and four criminals sustained bullet injuries. All of them have been admitted to private hospitals.
The first shootout took place in Rajnagar Extension around 8.30 pm. According to police, Naveen Gupta, a resident of Rajnagar Extension, was returning home from Delhi. On the way via Hindon, he stopped to buy some snacks near Rajnagar Extension Cut. While he stopped his car, he got a call from someone on the mobile phone and attended it. Soon, two men, later identified as Ravinder and Raman, approached him and threatened him at gunpoint. They forcibly took away his car. Gupta immediately informed police control room on 100. A PCR van reached the spot and Morta Chowki incharge Ram Narayan was also alerted.
"The police traced the miscreants and on seeing them, they turned towards the jungle in Ator Nagla village. The police intercepted them asked them to surrender. However, they fired at police in which constable Sachin received injuries in his hand. The police returned the fire in which both the accused received injuries on their thighs. They were arrested. We are trying to ascertain their background," said SP (city) Akash Tomar.
The second shootout took place in Vijay Nagar's Pratap Vihar area around 9.30 pm. SHO, Vijay Nagar, Naresh Kumar Singh said the shootout took place near Santosh Medical College where a police team was on a checking drive.
According to police, around 9.30 pm, two persons were seen coming on a bike by sub-inspectors Preetam Singh and Mehkar Hussain. They asked them to stop, but one of the bikers opened fire on the police in which Hussain received injuries on his hand. Singh fired at the bikers in retaliation in which one assailant, later identified as Hasmat, sustained injuries on his leg and fell from the bike. The second man escaped but was later caught in Masuri where he fired at the police again.SHO, Masuri, Satendra Prakash Singh said: "After fleeing from Vijay Nagar, the second man Imran reached Masuri. However, he was stopped at a check-post near Kazipura Cut. However, he fired at the police in which constable Sahib got hurt. He then started moving in the opposite direction. Cops also fired at him. He was nabbed after a bullet hit his leg."
In 3 days, an encounter every 3.5 hours in UP
With seven more encounters leading to the arrest of 10 wanted criminals in 24 hours till Saturday evening, the Uttar Pradesh police hit a strike rate of one ambush every three and a half hours in the past three days. The cops had carried out 15 encounters/shootouts in the preceding 48 hours. Thirty-four criminals were arrested, most of them with gunshot wounds. Two were shot .