KOLKATA: Two dreaded criminals from Punjab— identified as Jaipal Bhuller and Jaspreet Singh— were gunned down in an encounter with the police at Shapoorji Sukhobrishti housing complex in New Town on Wednesday afternoon. A police officer of the STF, Kartick Ghosh was also shot by the criminals during the encounter, said sources.
A Criminal Investigation Department (CID) team reached the spot and started an inquiry. The injured police officer Kartik Ghosh has been admitted to a private hospital in Salt Lake, sources said.
On Wednesday around 3 pm, STF officers along with a large contingent reached B block of the housing complex after getting a tip off that some criminals had taken shelter there. When a few officers went to the flat number 201 on fifth floor in the B block, the criminals started firing at them. The police officers retaliated.The exchange of fire continued for almost half-an-hour.
Cops got the lead about Bhullar after arresting a man from Birbhum with a consignment of arms along with explosive substances smuggled in from Bihar. STF officials came to know that a few criminals connected with an interstate arms dealing were hiding somewhere in the Northern fringes.
Recently cops were tipped off about Bhullar and his associate. Vineet Goyal, Additional Director General of the STF said: "We were informed about the duo hiding in the housing complex and reccee was done to ascertain their presence. When our men went to arrest them, the criminals open fire. In self defence our officers retaliated and the duo died. Several things including five sophisticated pistols such as 9 mm and Glock along with 89 rounds of live ammunition were found. The CID team is here and trying to find out how many rounds they have fired on us. The Punjab Police team has reached the city. We were in touch with them since the duo's name cropped up."
Bhullar was a most wanted criminal in Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh with around 40 cases registered against him Last month Bhullar and his men killed two Assistant Sub Inspectors Bhagwan Singh and Dalwinder Singh during a naka checking at Grain market in Ludhiana. Bhullar has been absconding since 2016.