New Delhi: A total of 43 shots of bullets were exchanged in the shootout between gangsters and a joint team of Delhi and Haryana police in Sonipat that left three alleged gangsters dead and one Delhi Police SI injured, an official said.
The gangsters fired 24 shots as the police retaliated with 19 shots, the officer said a day after the shootout.
Ashish alias Lalu, Sunny Kharar and Vicky Ridhana, all three hailing from Haryana, died in the shootout. Ashish and Vicky allegedly also shot 26-year-old Aman Joon dead at a Rajouri Garden Burger King outlet on June 18.
After getting a tip-off, Special Commissioner of Police (crime) Shalini Singh said the team intercepted the trio travelling on a Kia Seltos car on Rohtak-Chinauli road around 8.40 pm.
Sensing police presence, they tried to flee from the spot and went towards a 'kachha' road but their vehicle got stuck near a farm.
The officer said the accused persons started firing upon the police party while sitting inside the car. They fired around 24 shots at the police party and one bullet each hit SI Amit on his leg and the bullet-proof jackets worn by Deputy Commissioner of Police Amit Goel and ACP Umesh Barthwal.
In self-defence, the police party also retaliated and fired, the officer said.
Another officer said the police party fired 19 shots, Sunny receiving five of them, and Ashish and Vicky receiving three each.
The officer said the gangsters were facing multiple criminal cases --Sunny (20), Vicky (3) and Sunny (4) -- ranging from murder, attempt to murder and extortion in Delhi and Haryana.
All three of them were members of the Himanshu Bhau gang. Himanshu Bhau is suspected to be operating from Spain and Portugal in Europe.
A week ago, a purported social media post claimed that the police had picked the trio and they might be killed in a fake encounter.
The police officer said the post was later deleted as it might be a part of their tactic to build pressure on the police.
The officer clarified that the accused were never held by the police before their encounter in Sonipat on Friday.
The officer further said all three deceased were shooters of Himanshu Bhau gang and were not scared of opening fire on anyone. They had allegedly opened fire previously at various auto showrooms, sweetshops and threatened businessmen to extort money.
The officer said Ashish and Vicky were also involved in the shooting and killing of a businessman outside Gulshan Daba in Murthal in March.
The Haryana Police has announced rewards of over Rs 1 lakh on both of them.
The shootout operation was done by a joint team led by Delhi Police's DCP Goel and Haryana Police's Special Task Force (STF) Deputy Superintendent Indivir and Inspector Yogender from Sonipat, police said.
Haryana Police has registered a separate case in connection with the encounter and probing the matter further. The bodies of all three deceased have been sent for post-mortem.