According to DCP (zone 7) K L Prasad, the suspect was killed by five police officers when he opened fire at a police party near Saiwadi adjoining the Western Express Highway. The suspect was trying to escape in a stolen Maruti Zen.

Yesterday evening, a complaint had been filed at Santacruz police station stating that a Maruti Zen was stolen at gunpoint from Juhu Tara Road. Following this, a `motor vehicle seizure operation' was launched and all police controls were alerted.

Early in the morning today, five police officers standing on Andheri flyover saw the white Maruti passing by. They signalled the driver to stop but he sped away. The police chased the car and managed to corner it in front of Regency Hotel on N C Phadke Marg. The driver fired at the police officers, who then had to return fire.

The car was stolen at around 2.15 am, when the owner and his driver were passing through S V Road at Santacruz. He was asked to step out of the car by a man wielding a revolver, who took his car ahead. After reaching Nanavati Hospital, the armed car thief, shoved the driver out too.

The car owner, Paswan, lodged a complaint at the Santacruz police station. The message was immediately flashed on the wireless. Around 3 am, the police cruiser van spotted the white Maruti Zen coming down from the Andheri flyover. The police van began following the car. An unmarked police car also joined the chase.

The police team that chased the car comprised police inspector Jayant Sarmukadam, assistant police inspector Arun Borude, sub-inspector Daya Nayak, sub-inspector Sandeep More, and woman sub-inspector Sangeeta Patil.In the course of the firing, the thief was injured and he fell down. He was immediately moved to Cooper Hospital but was declared dead on admission. A Western Railway identity card found on him said he was Dinesh Salian. A foreign made revolver was found with him.

The police found out from the Modus Operandi Bureau that Dinesh, alias Danny, was wanted by the VP Road police in an extortion case. He was a member of the Chota Shakeel gang.

He and Suryakant Panchal alias Sandy were involved in setting Konkani free from police custody from JJ Hospital in May 6 this year. He had fired at a police constable, Kardile, during Konkani's escape.

Panchal was killed in an encounter with a special squad in June. This leaves only one of Konkani's three sharpshooters alive. WSI Patil became the fourth policewoman to be instrumental in police encounters.

Crime Branch officers yesterday arrested two Chota Shakeel gang members and seized one Chinese-made AK-56 rifle from them.

According to senior PI Pote of Kandivli Crime Branch (unit 10), police received information that Chota Shakeel gang members were likely to clash with Chota Rajan's gang at Tilak Nagar, Chembur, and that they were going to assemble at Malavani. Unit X officers kept a watch and succeeded in nabbing Ruhul Amin alias Babloo Abdul Rauf and Noor Abubakar Shaikh. One of Amin's associates, Ziaul Shaikh Shamsuddin, was later traced at Malad and arrested.

An AK-56 rifle with two loaded magazines, each containing 29 rounds was recovered from Amin. Shaikh was found to possess one 9 mm pistol with two magazines, each containing nine and four rounds respectively.

On further interrogation, Amin revealed that he had two magazines and 196 rounds of AK-56 rifle, one magazine of star pistol with 8 rounds in his house. These were also seized.