Kamlesh Chaudhary, an accused in the murder case of hotel owner Vineet Rai, was killed in a police encounter near Pauhari Baba Ashram in Kurtha under the City Kotwali police station area of Ghazipur district late on Wednesday evening, police said.
During the exchange of fire, SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) team in-charge Rohit Mishra sustained a bullet injury and was admitted to the Medical College Hospital, where he is undergoing treatment.
A senior police officer said police received a tip-off on Wednesday evening that Chaudhary, who was wanted in the Vineet Rai murder case, was hiding near the Pauhari Baba Ashram in Kurtha. Acting on the information, local police and the SWAT team jointly launched a cordon-and-search operation in the area.
According to the officer, the police team warned the accused to surrender, but he allegedly opened fire on the personnel instead. One of the bullets hit Rohit Mishra, injuring him during the operation.
Police retaliated in self-defence, following which Chaudhary suffered critical injuries in the exchange of fire. He was rushed to hospital, where doctors declared him dead.
Deputy inspector general of police, Varanasi Range, Vaibhav Krishna confirmed the encounter and said five teams had been deployed to ensure the arrest of the accused involved in the murder case.
Police said Chaudhary was carrying a reward of ₹1 lakh and legal formalities related to the encounter were being carried out.
Twenty-six-year-old hotel owner Vineet Rai was shot dead by three bike-borne assailants in the Phullanpur–Fattehpur Sikandar area under the City Kotwali police station limits in Ghazipur district last Friday night.
Police said the attackers, who were allegedly lying in wait, opened fire on Rai as he stepped out of the hotel before fleeing the scene.
