UP: Three alleged livestock thieves injured in shootout with police

Three alleged miscreants involved in livestock theft were injured in a police encounter in Mathura, UP, after firing on cops. Separately, police in Hardoi busted a massive online pornography network, arresting the main accused.

Three alleged miscreants sustained gunshot injuries during an encounter with police in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, after they opened fire on a police team during a vehicle checking operation, officials said.

According to police, the encounter took place during a checking drive launched after receiving intelligence inputs about criminal activity in the area, including incidents of livestock theft reported over a period of time.

A vehicle carrying several men, along with a motorcycle, approached the checkpoint but allegedly refused to stop and opened fire at police personnel.

Speaking on the incident, Circle Officer (Sadar) PP Singh said, "The Station Officer (SO) had received intelligence regarding criminal activity in the area--specifically, that livestock theft, a persistent issue for some time, was being perpetrated by a group of miscreants"

He said a police team, including the outpost in-charge and Station Officer, had begun vehicle checking near the Sunset police post when the suspects arrived.

"They were ordered to stop at the checkpoint; however, they refused to halt. Instead, shouting 'shoot the police,' they opened fire and launched a life-threatening assault on the personnel," he said.

Singh further added that despite repeated warnings to surrender, the accused continued firing, following which police retaliated in self-defence. " When further attempts were made to intercept them--including issuing verbal warnings to surrender--they ignored the commands and intensified their firing. The police returned fire in self-defence, resulting in three of the criminals sustaining gunshot wounds," he said.

Further details of the case are awaited.

Online Pornography Network Busted in Hardoi

In a separate incident on May 19 in Uttar Pradesh's Hardoi, the Cyber Police Station busted a massive online pornography network operated via social media platforms, involving thousands of minors and transactions worth crores, an official said.

The accused, identified as Vikas Singh, a 2019 B.Tech graduate, has been arrested.

Speaking to ANI, Hardoi City Circle Officer (CO) Ankit Mishra stated that the breakthrough came following a tip-off received by the Cyber Police Station on May 17 regarding the dissemination of objectionable content targeting minors. "On May 17, the Cyber Police Station received information regarding an individual in the Hardoi district, identified as Vikas Singh, who was disseminating objectionable content among minors. The police registered a case under relevant sections, and teams were deployed to arrest the accused," CO Mishra said.

During subsequent interrogation, the scale of the illicit operation came to light. The accused had leveraged popular messaging and social media platforms to cast a wide net.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)