Jammu, April 27 (IANS) A notorious criminal was killed in firing at a ‘Naka’ (checkpost) in J&K’s Jammu district, the police said on Monday.

Officials said that the criminal was killed during an encounter after he allegedly opened fire on a police team at a naka in the Miran Sahib area of Jammu late Sunday night.

Police said that acting on specific inputs regarding the movement of the accused, a team from Police Station Miran Sahib laid a naka and intensified checking in the area.

During checking, the accused, identified as Abhineet Singh, a member of the Nagi gang and a history-sheeter involved in more than 13 FIRs, including attempt to murder, rioting and arms smuggling, arrived at the spot on a motorcycle along with an associate.

When signalled to stop, the duo allegedly tried to evade the naka and opened fire on the police party. In retaliation and in self-defence, police fired back, following which both accused fled from the spot, abandoning their motorcycle under the cover of darkness.

Officials said the police team chased the accused and later found Abhineet Singh in an injured condition in a nearby canal, while his associate managed to escape.

He was shifted to the Government Medical College Jammu, where he succumbed to his injuries. The body has been shifted for post-mortem examination, while a search operation has been launched to nab the absconding associate.

Gang wars among criminals have taken place in Jammu for a long time, and these wars are basically caused by greed for domination over one another in smuggling, drug supplies and other criminal activities.

In the past, two notorious criminal gangs in Jammu used to engage in gunfights with each other after the dons of these two gangs fell apart after working together for decades.

The police have succeeded to a large extent in eliminating criminal gangs in Jammu, although some of these are still reportedly active in the peripheries of the city.

–IANS

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