Patna: A notorious criminal, carrying a reward of Rs50,000 on his head, was shot in the leg following a gunfight with police and the Special Task Force (STF) on the outskirts of Sukhaibasa village under Beldaur police station area in Khagaria district on Tuesday morning.The injured criminal has been identified as Mohammad Buddin Mian, a resident of Jholi panchayat under Beldaur police station area. He was rushed to Khagaria Sadar Hospital for treatment.According to police, they received information around 1.30am that the criminal was hiding in the cattleshed of Mohammad Sajul in Sukhaibasa village. A joint team of senior police officers, the Beldaur police station team, the DIU team and the STF immediately cordoned off the area.Khagaria SP Rakesh Kumar said, “When the police asked him to surrender, the criminal attempted to flee. During the chase, the accused opened fire on the police team. The police retaliated in self-defence, and a bullet struck him in the leg, causing him to fall. He was immediately shifted to the hospital under police custody for treatment.”From the spot, police recovered a country-made rifle, a pistol, 11 live cartridges, three spent cartridges, a misfired bullet and a mobile phone. A fresh case has been registered at Beldaur police station against the accused and further investigation is underway.Buddin is a history-sheeter with more than 14 serious cases registered against him at Beldaur police station, including murder, kidnapping, extortion, robbery, dacoity and Arms Act violations. He was absconding in several of these cases.So far, 12 encounters took place across the state, including four in Patna, Siwan (3), and one each in Bhagalpur, Samastipur, Jehanabad, Kishanganj and Khagaria.
