Varanasi: Three criminals were caught after an exchange of fire with police near Kothra bypass under Aurai police station in Bhadohi district on Tuesday morning. They were arrested after suffering bullet injuries in the leg.Bhadohi SP Abhimanyu Manglik said Aurai police were busy checking vehicles around 2.10 am when informers alerted them regarding movement of notorious robbers involved in several incidents of loot in the district. Police cordoned off Kothra Bypass Road and tried to stop the car of the miscreants as they passed through.On seeing their car surrounded by police, the miscreants jumped out and tried to escape on foot, firing at the police team, said SP, adding that when police started retaliatory action, all 3 of them suffered bullet injuries in the leg. After recovering two country-made firearms, cartridges, mobile phones, a car and cash worth Rs 8,000 from them, police rushed the trio to a local hospital. The arrested men were identified as Pankaj Rao, Sarvesh Singh and Saqlain of Kushinagar district. When police started checking their criminal history, it came to light that a total of 28 cases of loot and robbery were lodged against Pankaj, 13 against Sarvesh and 27 against Saqlain with police in different districts of the state.During interrogation, they confessed involvement in cases of loot, including a Feb 17 incident targeting an elderly person who came out of a bank after withdrawing cash worth Rs 49,000 in Aurai area. They offered him lift to his home and pushed him out of vehicle after looting the cash, near Ghosiya overbridge and fled the scene.
