In a high-stakes midnight showdown that has sent shockwaves through western Uttar Pradesh, a notorious criminal with a Rs 1 lakh bounty on his head was fatally shot during a fierce police encounter, leaving two brave officers wounded in the line of duty. The dramatic operation unfolded late Sunday night in Saharanpur's Sarasawa police station jurisdiction, marking another decisive blow in the state's relentless crackdown on organized crime.

The slain suspect, identified as Imran, was a key figure in a ruthless gang that had terrorized residents across Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, and Shamli districts for years. Police sources revealed that Imran, along with his accomplices Mehtab and Naim—both of whom met their end in separate encounters earlier this year—was linked to at least 13 heinous cases involving dacoity, loot, robbery, and even murder.

Their modus operandi was brutally efficient: striking under the cover of darkness with high-caliber firearms, leaving a trail of fear and stolen valuables in their wake. Mehtab, Imran's closest partner in crime, had been neutralized just days prior in a Muzaffarnagar shootout, where he too injured officers before being taken down. With Naim already off the streets, Imran's elimination effectively dismantles what locals dubbed the "Highway Highwaymen"—a gang infamous for ambushing travelers on major routes like the Dehradun-Ambala highway.

The encounter kicked off around 10 PM when Imran, ever the opportunist, snatched a motorcycle from a hapless resident in the Gagalhedi area. Alerted by the victim, a joint task force comprising officers from Sarasawa and Gagalhedi police stations, backed by the elite Special Operations Group (SOG), sprang into action. Spotting the stolen bike speeding along the highway, they gave chase, cornering Imran in a tense standoff amid the dimly lit stretch. What followed was chaos: feeling the noose tighten, Imran unleashed a barrage of bullets from his .32-bore pistol, striking Gagalhedi SHO Pravesh Sharma in the left hand and grazing Sarasawa SHO Vinod Kumar despite his bulletproof vest absorbing the brunt of another shot. Undeterred, the officers returned fire with precision, neutralizing the threat in a hail of gunfire that echoed through the night.

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From Imran's possession, police recovered two .32-bore pistols loaded with fresh cartridges, the stolen motorcycle, and other incriminating items that tied him directly to unsolved heists. "This wasn't just any takedown—it was the culmination of months of intelligence work under our 'Operation Clean-up' initiative," declared Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ashish Tiwari in a press briefing. Tiwari, who personally oversaw the operation, hailed the injured officers as heroes, noting that Sharma underwent surgery for his gunshot wound while Kumar was treated for minor bruising and released after observation. Both are reported to be out of danger and already itching to return to duty.

The trio's reign of terror had cast a long shadow over the region, with victims recounting harrowing tales of armed hold-ups at gunpoint, where families were stripped of cash, jewelry, and vehicles. One recent incident involved a daring daylight robbery of a jewelry shop in Shamli, where the gang made off with goods worth lakhs, only to fence them in underground networks. Imran's Rs 1 lakh reward, announced by authorities earlier this year, underscored the urgency of his capture—he was no small-time crook but a sharpshooter with a network spanning multiple states.

Tiwari emphasized that this victory is a game-changer for public safety. "By eliminating Imran, we've not only avenged the victims but also sent a clear message to every criminal lurking in the shadows: Uttar Pradesh is no longer safe for you. Our zero-tolerance policy will continue until every district is cleansed of these elements." Early investigations suggest the gang may have ties to larger syndicates operating from neighboring states, prompting a deeper probe that could unravel more arrests.

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