Noida police on Monday arrested one of the accused in the 2015 lynching of Mohammed Akhlaque after a gunfight.

Police said Hariom, who was out on bail in the lynching case, is accused in multiple robbery cases across Ghaziabad and Greater Noida.

“Hariom is wanted in 11 criminal cases, including murder, attempt to murder, arms act, robbery in Greater Noida and Ghaziabad. Early on Monday, he opened fire at a police team when he was intercepted for checking. The cops also opened fire in retaliation in which he was injured in his left leg and slumped to the ground,” said a Noida police official.

Hariom was arrested and the police seized a country-made gun and a motorcycle from him.

Mohammed Akhlaque, 52, was dragged out of his Bisara home in Dadri, less than 50km from Delhi, on September 28, 2015, by a mob and killed on suspicion of eating and storing beef. The murder had shocked the country and was the trigger for the intolerance debate.

All the 17 accused involved in Akhlaque’s lynching were out on bail. The case against them has been dragging in a fast-track court in Greater Noida over the past three years. The trial is yet to begin.

In March, all the 17 accused were spotted at a BJP election rally addressed by Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath.