By IANS,
Lucknow : Two policemen were killed Wednesday in an ongoing gun battle with bandits in Uttar Pradesh’s Chitrakoot district taking the toll to three, police said.
A commander of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) and a police constable were killed Wednesday morning, a police officer said. A constable of the Special Operations Group was killed Tuesday night.
The gunfight started after the Commando team of the Special Task Force reached Suruwal Rajapur village in Chitrakoot, 280 km from here, on a tip off that bandits, including wanted criminal Ghanshyam Kewat, were hiding there.
“We hope to eliminate the bandits by today (Wednesday) evening and it seems that they are heavily armed,” Inspector General Allahabad Range S.P. Shukla told IANS.
It was not clear how many bandits are engaged in the fire-fight with the police.
The village was cordoned off by the police to prevent the bandits from escaping.
“A helicopter has also been sent to the spot to carry on rescue and medical operations for our cops,” Additional Director General of Police Brijlal told reporters.
Kewat, who carries a reward of Rs.50,000 on his head, and his gang operate in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, where they have committed over two dozen murders, abductions and other crimes, a police officer said.