Bahraich:Police in Uttar Pradesh's Bahraich district have arrested five members of a gang involved in power wire theft following an encounter in the Nanpara area, officials said on Saturday.
According to police officials, the accused were intercepted near the banks of the Saryu Canal in the Nanpara area when a police team moved in after receiving information about their activities.
The suspects allegedly opened fire after finding themselves surrounded by the police, prompting the personnel to retaliate in self-defence.
During the exchange of fire, one of the alleged gang members, identified as Qadir, sustained a bullet injury to his leg. He was subsequently taken to a hospital for medical treatment.
Four other accused were apprehended at the spot, while another alleged accomplice managed to flee from the scene and remains absconding.
Police said an illegal pistol, cartridges, a car, tools used for the theft, and a large quantity of stolen power wires were recovered from the accused. Following the incident, the Superintendent of Police, accompanied by a forensic team, inspected the encounter site as part of the investigation.
Bahraich Superintendent of Police Vishwajeet Srivastava, speaking to reporters, said that several incidents of power cable theft had been reported in the Nanpara area in recent days, resulting in repeated disruptions to electricity supply and causing inconvenience to residents.
"Incidents of power cable theft had been occurring frequently in the Nanpara area for the past few days. The theft of power cables frequently disrupted power supply in some areas, causing inconvenience to the public. A SWAT team and police station personnel were deployed to apprehend the wire thieves," Srivastava said.
He said police subsequently received information through an informer that a group of wire thieves was planning another theft along the Saryu Canal track and was also attempting to dispose of cables that had already been stolen.
Acting on the information, police teams reached the area and surrounded the suspected members of the gang in an attempt to prevent them from escaping.
"The criminals opened fire on the team. In retaliatory action, one criminal was shot in the leg, while the others were arrested at the scene," SP Vishwajeet Srivastava stated.
Further investigation into the power wire theft network, including the source and intended destination of the stolen cables, is currently underway.
--IANS
