Staff Reporter :
HOUR Safter his arrest in Bhopal
on Thursday night, Salman alias
Nazar, the main accused wanted in the heinous rape case of
a six-year-old girl in Raisen district, was injured in a police
encounter (short encounter) in
the Obedullaganj area. The
accused allegedly tried to escape
from custody, snatched a police
officer’s rifle, and fired shots. He
is currently admitted to Hamidia
Hospital in Bhopal, where his
condition is reported to be stable.
Firing during escape attempt:
According to ASP Kamlesh
Kumar, the accused Salman,
who carried a Rs 30,000 reward,
was apprehended from
Gandhinagar, Bhopal, on
Thursday night.
As the
Gauharganj police team was
transporting him to Raisen, the
police vehicle suffered a tyre
puncture in the jungle area of
Obedullaganj.
Between 3 and 4 am, as the
accused was being shifted to
another vehicle, he suddenly
snatched the rifle of SubInspector Shyamraj Singh.
Police reported that the accused
fired two rounds at the scene
and began fleeing towards the
forest.
Raisen SP Ashutosh Gupta
stated that the police had to take
retaliatory action in self-defence
and shot the accused in the leg,
injuring him.
SP Gupta affirmed
that the accused will be given
the strictest punishment
according to the law.
Social media alertness leads
to arrest: The alertness of local
youths and the pictures of the
accused that went viral on social
media played a crucial role in
Salman’s capture. Salman alias
Nazar was reportedly looking
for a rented room in Sector-11,
Gandhinagar, around 9 pm on
Thursday night. A local youth
noticed him loitering under suspicious circumstances. Having
seen the rape accused’s pictures
on reels, the youth became suspicious.
The young man immediately took a photo of Salman and
sent it to his friends.
The two
friends rushed to the spot. When
questioned, the accused identified himself as Nazar, further
deepening their suspicion as
this name matched Salman’s
alias on social media. Fearing
capture, when the accused tried
to flee, the two youths detained
him on the pretext of offering
him tea at a nearby tea stall.
Meanwhile, one youth
phoned Police Constable Rahul
Guru, who was previously posted at the Gandhinagar Police
Station, and sent him the suspect’s picture. Rahul Guru
immediately forwarded the
photo to the Raisen Police, and
within minutes, it was confirmed that he was the wanted
accused.
Local residents mentioned
that Salman was intoxicated and
had been roaming the area for
quite some time. When asked
for identification, he claimed
he had no documents or mobile
phone. Some residents claimed
he had lived in the same area
two years prior as a painter. The
brave young man who initiated
the capture stated that if any
reward is announced for their
effort, then they wish the
amount be handed over to the
victim’s family.