PATNA: An interstate criminal carrying a bounty of Rs.50,000 on his head was killed in a fierce encounter with police in Bihar’s Vaishali district on Friday.Arvind Sahni, 30, had escaped from a court lockup after evading police in Samastipur district on May 28 this year and had been on the run since. According to police, he was involved in at least 22 cases of murder, loot, dacoity, and arms deals across Muzaffarpur, Vaishali, Samastipur, and East Champaran districts.A police constable was injured during the exchange of fire. Based on a tip-off, a joint team of the Special Task Force (STF) and district police surrounded Chintamanipur village under Vaishali police station limits on Thursday evening to search for Sahni. On seeing the police, Sahni and his accomplices opened fire. Sahni sustained gunshot injuries, while his accomplices managed to escape. He was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead.Superintendent of Police, Vaishali, Lalit Mohan Sharma, said, “While Sahni was killed, a police constable sustained injuries in the exchange of fire. The deceased, a member of an inter-state gang, was wanted in at least 22 cases in several districts in the state. Sahni’s name had also figured in a major jewellery loot case in Chhattisgarh.”Sahni, a resident of Sahtha Bhagwanpur village in Vaishali district, was also involved in the 2019 gold loot from the Hajipur office of a private finance company. SP Sharma added, “We have launched intensive search for other members of the gang. The operation will continue till their arrest.”Sahni’s elimination in the police operation has come as a major relief for businessmen in Muzaffarpur, Vaishali, and Samastipur, who had been targeted by his gang. Police said the gang had unleashed a reign of terror in these districts, and efforts are ongoing to apprehend the remaining accomplices.
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