Cuttack, Sept. 6: Police have nabbed a gangster, identified as Sk Rahul alias Sabir, at Chahata here after an encounter.

The police claimed that a special squad, which was on the lookout for Sabir in connection with the July 28 bombing at Purighat, tracked him to Chahata yesterday evening.

He was trying to flee the spot on his two-wheeler when the police cornered him. Sabir, a resident of Baunshagali in Darghabazar, opened fire on the police to resist his arrest. The police also fired in self-defence injuring Sabir.

'During the gunfight, Sabir suffered injuries in his right thigh. He was immediately shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital,' said Cuttack deputy commissioner of police Akhileswar Singh.

The police have also recovered a Mauser pistol from him.

The police said Sabir was involved in the recent case of bombing in Purighat and cases of criminal intimidation, criminal assault and wrongful restraint under Darghabazar and Lalbag police station limits. Singh said: 'Sabir is a notorious criminal involved in a case of bombing and other cases involving serious breach of peace in Cuttack life.'

The criminal had gained notoriety for executing extortion threat related bombings and is a close associate of another gangster, Sk Sakil, who is now in jail.

This is the second instance within 20 days and third in five months, in which another criminal has been nabbed after police encounter.

On the night of August 15, the police, in a special-squad operation, nabbed another gangster, Raghunath Das. Raghunath was involved in many bombing cases. The police suspected that he had links with the gangster siblings - Dhal Samant brothers.

Raghunath was injured in an encounter with the police, when he was trying to resist his arrest by way of open firing at the police at Balighat in Sector 10 of Markatnagar. The police had recovered one pistol, bullets and a live bomb from the spot.

Raghunath's arrest had marked resumption of crackdown on criminals ahead of the festival season that starts with Ganesh Puja in the city.

'We plan to take into preventive custody all the habitual offenders by invoking Section 110 of the CrPC. All the police stations have already been directed to prepare the list of habitual offenders in their respective areas,' Singh said.

'Besides, under the ongoing warrant drive we have targeted to execute before Puja at least 450 non-bailable warrants that have pending at the different police stations', he said.

On the night of April 17, the police, in another special-squad operation, nabbed another gangster identified as Sk Babu, a resident of Pension Lane near Buxi Bazar while giving extortion calls to a businessman.

Babu, accused in a series of crime, was injured in an encounter with the police at Hadia Patha after he opened fire at the police personnel. He suffered bullet injuries in his right thigh. The police had seized a 7.65mm pistol and Rs 10,000 from his possession.