Guwahati: Gujarat Police shot a history-sheeter in the leg after he allegedly attacked a police officer and attempted to flee while being transported from Assam to Gujarat, officials said on Wednesday.
The accused, Ashok Panwar alias Ashok Bishnoi, who faces charges under the Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organised Crime (GCTOC) Act, suffered a bullet injury to his right leg and is undergoing treatment at a hospital in Dahod, according to a statement issued by the State Monitoring Cell (SMC) of Gujarat Police.
Police said Bishnoi has more than 27 criminal cases registered against him in Gujarat, including serious offences under the GCTOC Act and liquor prohibition laws. He had been absconding in over seven cases for more than a year, prompting the Director General of Police to announce a Rs 25,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.
The SMC said Bishnoi is the prime accused in a GCTOC case registered earlier this year at the State Monitoring Cell police station in Gandhinagar and had evaded arrest since police filed the FIR. A native of Rajasthan’s Jalore district, police arrested him from a hotel in Guwahati’s Dispur area in the early hours of December 29 using technical surveillance and human intelligence.
After completing legal procedures in Assam, police transported Bishnoi and two other suspects, who were staying with him during the raid, to Gujarat in two SUVs. Officials said that on the night of December 30, while the convoy was travelling along the Limdi–Limkheda road in Dahod district, Bishnoi suddenly grabbed the seat belt and allegedly wrapped it around the neck of a police sub-inspector driving the vehicle in an attempt to strangle him.
Despite repeated warnings and the use of force, the accused allegedly refused to loosen his grip and intensified the assault, creating a life-threatening situation for the officer, police said. To rescue the sub-inspector and prevent an escape, Inspector R G Khant fired a single round from his service weapon, hitting Bishnoi in the right leg and forcing him to release the officer.
Police immediately shifted Bishnoi to a private hospital in Dahod, where doctors reported his condition as stable. Authorities later registered a fresh case against him at the State Monitoring Cell police station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including attempt to murder, assault on a public servant, and obstruction of official duty.