Gurgaon: A 23-year-old man carrying a bounty of Rs 5,000 in a kidnapping-for-ransom case was arrested after an encounter during the early hours of Wednesday. The man was armed and one of his bullets allegedly struck a police officer’s bulletproof vest. A case under relevant sections of BNS and the Arms Act has been registered.The accused, identified as Nitin alias Chhota, a resident of Maraut village in Jhajjar, had been on the run for nearly a month.Palam Vihar Crime Branch team was tipped off about his whereabouts on Tuesday night. Police set up a checkpoint between Pataudi Road and Sector 93 around 3 am on Wednesday.“Around 3.40 am, they spotted a motorcyclist matching the description of the suspect. When officers signalled him to stop, he attempted to flee, causing the motorcycle to fall. As police approached him, the accused opened fire while trying to escape,” Sandeep Kumar, police spokesperson, said.Police said Nitin fired four rounds during the encounter, one of which struck the bulletproof vest of a police personnel. Despite repeated warnings to surrender, he continued firing. During three rounds of retaliatory fire, one bullet struck the accused in his left leg. The accused was overpowered, taken into custody and taken to a hospital.Police recovered the motorcycle, a pistol and used cartridges from the scene. Preliminary investigation revealed that the motorcycle was stolen from the Palam Vihar area.Police said Nitin was wanted in a kidnapping-for-ransom case registered at Udyog Vihar police station on May 9 this year.According to investigators, the case came to light after a native of Uttar Pradesh, who runs an Ayurvedic medicine business in Udyog Vihar, approached police alleging that he was abducted by a group of men on the evening of May 8.The complainant told police that he was travelling on his motorcycle from his office to his rented accommodation in Kapashera in Delhi when seven to eight men travelling in a car intercepted him, forcibly bundled him into their vehicle and began assaulting him. The accused allegedly demanded Rs 7 lakh as ransom and drove him to a secluded location where he was repeatedly beaten, threatened and pressured to arrange money.Police said the victim managed to get Rs 20,000 transferred to the accused through his brother. The kidnappers later abandoned him at a deserted place and fled.Based on the complaint, Udyog Vihar police registered a case of kidnapping, extortion and assault. Six accused were arrested in the case on May 10, while Nitin remained absconding.A reward of Rs 5,000 was subsequently announced for information leading to his arrest.Police said Nitin has a long criminal history and is involved in 17 cases registered in Haryana and Delhi, including murder, kidnapping for ransom, robbery, attempt to murder, Arms Act violations and other serious offences.Investigators are also probing his possible links to organised crime networks. Police said that while Nitin’s direct association with any gang has not yet been established, one of his co-accused in a previous case was associated with fugitive gangster Himanshu Bhau.“So far his direct association with any criminal gang has not been established. However, one of his co-accused in a criminal case was linked to wanted gangster Himanshu Bhau. We are examining his network and will identify and arrest his associates as well,” a police officer said.Officials said the accused is undergoing treatment and will be formally arrested and interrogated after being discharged from hospital. Further investigation is underway.
