PATNA: Three criminals were killed in an encounter with a joint team of the Special Task Force (STF) and local police in the Sherpur area along the Ganga River in Bihar's Patna district early Friday morning.
Maner Station House Officer (SHO) Rajnish Kumar sustained injuries during the exchange of fire.
The encounter took place around 3 a.m. under the jurisdiction of Maner police station.
The deceased have been identified as J.P. Yadav, Suraj Kumar alias Raja Sharma and Bablu Kumar.
According to police, all three had criminal backgrounds and were wanted in several cases, including murder.
Patna Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kartikeya K. Sharma reached the spot after receiving information about the encounter.
He said that STF and district police teams had been conducting operations in different areas when they received intelligence that three criminals had assembled in Sherpur and were planning a major crime.
When the police team reached the location, the criminals allegedly opened fire, prompting the police to retaliate.
During the exchange, a bullet grazed the arm of Maner SHO Rajnish Kumar.
After the firing stopped, police personnel approached the spot and found three men lying injured.
They were immediately taken to a hospital, where doctors declared them dead.
Police recovered two pistols, one country-made firearm (desi katta) and several empty cartridges from the encounter site.
According to police, the exchange of fire lasted several rounds, with the criminals firing 24 rounds and the police responding with 18 rounds.
The bodies have been sent for post-mortem examinations.
Danapur-2 Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) A.K. Jha said that the three deceased were allegedly involved in the murder of Sanjit Kumar alias Bholu, president of the Vyapur Primary Agricultural Credit Society (PACS) in Maner.
According to the SDPO, Bablu Kumar and Suraj Kumar were the alleged shooters, while J.P. Yadav was the main conspirator behind the murder.
All three were wanted in connection with the murder case and other criminal cases registered at different police stations.