BHOPAL: A 21-year-old man wanted in connection with the Sagar spurious liquor tragedy was arrested after a brief encounter with police in Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar district early Sunday, officials said.
The accused, Shivanjay Rajput, who had a reward of Rs 30,000 on his arrest, sustained a bullet injury to his leg during the exchange of fire, police said.
Rajput allegedly opened fire at a police team during a search operation near the Kathua Nala forest area under Bahrol police station. Police retaliated by firing two rounds, one of which hit him in the leg, they said.
He was subsequently taken into custody and admitted to a hospital, where his condition was stated to be stable, Sagar police control room in-charge sub-inspector RKS Chauhan said.
According to police, Rajput, a resident of Chhapri village under Banda police station, had been on the run since the spurious liquor incident earlier this month. He was allegedly involved in manufacturing the illicit liquor.
Police said Rajput was carrying a country-made .315-bore pistol, three live cartridges and three empty cartridges. A mobile phone and motorcycle were also recovered from him.
The operation followed information received early Sunday that Rajput was hiding in the forest near Kathua Nala and could use the Dhamoni-Bahrol road while travelling towards his home in Chhapri.
Teams from Bandri and Bahrol police stations subsequently cordoned off the area and launched a search. Rajput, who was travelling on a motorcycle, allegedly fired three rounds at the police after spotting the team, prompting retaliatory firing in which he was injured.
Police sources said Rajput had three criminal cases registered against him and had previously been involved in liquor smuggling.
His arrest takes the total number of accused held in the spurious liquor case to 19, while FIRs have been registered against 30 people, police sources said.
The Sagar hooch tragedy has claimed at least 16 lives since last week, while one patient remains i