Gurgaon: Shahid alias Advani, a wanted interstate criminal from Nuh’s Kharkhari village with around 50 criminal cases registered against him in Haryana and Rajasthan, was killed in an exchange of fire with Nuh police near Sohna Thursday.The alleged cow smuggler and ATM theft accused was travelling in an SUV with two accomplices when a police team intercepted the vehicle. Police said the occupants opened fire, prompting the team to retaliate. Advani sustained gunshot injuries and died at the spot, while the other two men escaped.According to police, Advani was a history-sheeter and a proclaimed offender wanted in cases involving cow smuggling, theft, robbery, dacoity, attempted murder, attacks on police personnel, rape and firing at police teams. Police said over 40 criminal cases had been registered against him in Haryana and Rajasthan.The encounter took place after Nuh Crime Branch personnel pursued the Mahindra Thar towards Gurgaon and intercepted it near Silani village around 5am. Police surrounded the SUV, following which Advani and his accomplices allegedly fired at the team. The police returned fire, hitting Advani. His two associates fled during the exchange, prompting a search operation to trace them.A search of the vehicle led police to recover an illegal firearm and ammunition. Two cattle, allegedly tied up inside the SUV, were also found. The vehicle, registered in Faridabad, was seized, while the cattle were shifted to a cowshed. Advani’s body was taken to the Civil Hospital in Sohna for post-mortem examination.Police said they were examining the circumstances of the encounter and had launched a search for the two men who escaped. Investigators are also looking into the suspected criminal network and those who may have helped the gang. Sources claimed that a judicial magistrate probe has been initiated into the incident.Advani had a long history of alleged involvement in organised crime and had previously come under the scanner of Gurgaon police for ATM thefts. He was arrested in 2016 and again in 2018, but escaped from police custody on both occasions.In March 2018, he escaped while being held by Gurgaon Crime Branch personnel in Bilaspur, where he was being questioned. He was also accused of involvement in an attack on a police team in the Mewat region when officers went to apprehend him. Three policemen, including a Sector 17 crime unit in-charge, were injured in the incident, in which a large group of villagers allegedly attacked the team.Police had earlier linked Advani to a gang that targeted unattended ATMs. According to the cops, gang members allegedly used stolen pickup vehicles and belts to pull machines out of their enclosures, then transported them to isolated locations, broke them open with gas cutters and removed the cash. The group was also suspected of operating across district and state boundaries, with members and vehicles changed to evade detection.Nuh police said further action would be taken against the wider gang and those suspected of providing support. The search for the two absconding accomplices is underway.
