Wanted criminal, aide injured in shootout with Delhi, Punjab police

Neetu Dabodia, who carries a cash reward of Rs 7 lakh for his arrest, manages to escape into the fields near Sirsa, Punjab.

A man on the Delhi Police's most-wanted list, Neetu Dabodia, was reportedly injured in an encounter with the Special Cell and Punjab Police personnel on Monday.

Dabodia, police said, carries a Rs 7 lakh reward for information on his whereabouts.

His aide Dayanand who received a bullet wound to his head has been admitted to a hospital in Chandigarh.

The shootout took place in the Mansa district of Punjab where the Special Cell, in a joint operation with Punjab Police, placed barricades at Sardulgarh area to nab Neetu Dabodia.

"We had a tip-off about the gang's involvement in the kidnapping of a businessman's grandson in Mansa district. Based on this information, we got in touch with the Punjab Police and decided to lay a trap for Dabodia. We spotted Dabodia passing through one of the barricades in a white Toyota Innova with Dayanand around 3.15 in the afternoon. We signalled them to stop but instead of doing that they fired at the police party. Our men also shot at them but they fled the spot. Dabodia managed to drive the vehicle till Sirsa. The Innova was found in Sirsa with an injured Dayanand inside after which we rushed him to a hospital," S N Srivastava, Special Commissioner of Police (Special Cell), said.

Police suspect that dabodia was also injured in the shootout. But he managed to escape into the fields close to Sirsa, police said.

Police said Dabodia was wanted in connection with a number of cases including that of kidnapping, car-jacking, robbery, dacoity and contract killing.

"It looks like Dabodia also received bullet injuries as the car's front seat had bullet marks on it but we cannot say anything for sure as of now," Srivastava said.

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