Jamshedpur, April 23: In yet another encounter, police shot dead a notorious criminal, Nepal Lohar, in suburban Bagunhatu under Sidhgora police station area early this morning. With today’s incident, the police have killed two criminals in East Singhbhum district in 48 hours.

Nepal was allegedly involved in about a dozen cases of loot, extortion, snatching and contract killing.

While hunting down Lohar, seven other criminals, including three hardened criminals, were arrested during raids in the steel city and Seraikela-Kharsawan district and five country-made pistols seized from their possession.

Superintendent of police Naveen Kumar Singh said acting on a tip-off, the police nabbed dreaded criminal Bhim Lohar and Rajesh Lohar from the city. Two country-made pistols and ammunition were recovered from their possession. On the basis of the information divulged by the duo, the police raided a house at Bagunhatu in Sidhgora for nabbing Nepal Lohar.

“But when the raiding team arrived at Nepal’s house around 5am today, he opened fire from a closedistance.

Finding no alternative, the men-in-uniform fired in retaliation in which Nepal sustained grievous injuries,” the superintendent of police said.

Nepal was rushed to MGM Medical College and Hospital, where he was declared as brought dead. Singh claimed the police personnel would have been killed had they not fired in self-defence. He added that that another dreaded criminal, Sagar Lohar, managed to flee the spot.

The arrested were identified as Rajesh Lohar, Bhim Lohar and Chamru Kerai. He said that during grilling, the criminals made several revelations on the basis of which the police are trying to solve some old cases.

Giving a brief account of the cases, Lohar was involved in, the superintendent of police said Nepal used to work for the Bhim Lohar gang and had launched an attack on the managerial staff of liquor agency giant, Laxmi Hare Siva Hare & Company in Bistupur. Moreover, he had allegedly looted Rs 1.5 lakh while committing a loot on Tata-Hata road two months ago.

According to Singh, Nepal had also shot at a man at Ranidih bustee under Bagbera police station last month.

He said that the seven arrested are being interrogated, adding that the gangsters are suspected to have been involved in Bachhu Ghosh murder case. Earlier, on Monday, the police had gunned down dreaded criminal Mohammed Mukhtar in an encounter near Dhalbhumgarh railway station in Ghatshila sub-division of the district, giving a boost to the confidence of the district police.

While the city has witnessed a spate of murders in recent times, the police seem to have resorted to killing the hardened criminals in encounters.