3 arrested for stealing gold, silver in Meerut, 1 injured for firing at police

Meerut (UP), Jun 19 (PTI) Three men were arrested on Thursday for allegedly stealing gold and silver worth lakhs, and one of them was injured in retaliatory firing when he attempted to flee by shooting at the police team using a cop's pistol, officials said.

The exchange of fire happened when they were taken to the spot where the valuables were hidden, they said.

According to police, Darshanlal Kapoor, a resident of Shamli, arrived in Meerut by bus on Tuesday. At Bhaisali Bus Stand, a thief cut open his bag and stole 2.250 kg of raw silver and 15 grams of gold. An FIR was registered at Sadar Bazar police station in connection with the case.

Station House Officer (SHO) Munesh Kumar Sharma said during the investigation, the three men -- Asif, Shahrukh and Salman -- were arrested. During interrogation, they said that they had hidden the stolen articles near the Cantt Railway Station.

"When a police team took them to the location for recovery during the early hours on Thursday, Shahrukh allegedly snatched a sub-inspector's pistol and attempted to flee.

"Shahrukh fired at the police team, leading to retaliatory firing in which he was injured. Shahrukh has been admitted to the district hospital," the SHO said.

Police said Shahrukh has close to a dozen criminal cases registered against him in various districts, including charges of attempt to murder, Arms Act violations. Asif and Salman also have multiple criminal cases registered against them. PTI COR CDN SKY SKY