Ghaziabad, Apr 14 (PTI) Three members of the notorious ‘Pankhiya’ gang from Shahjahanpur district were arrested following an encounter with police in Ghaziabad, officials said on Monday.

  One of the suspects sustained a bullet injury, while two others were caught unharmed in the encounter that took place late on Sunday night.

A fourth accomplice managed to escape under the cover of darkness, police said.

The three arrested individuals have been identified as Itwari (27), Bharat (37) and Padam (19), while Avatar is absconding.

The gang had been active in Ghaziabad’s Bhojpur police station area and was involved in a series of violent robberies in late March, Surendra Nath Tiwari, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Rural), said.

In one such incident on March 26 night, the gang attacked a pharmaceutical company employee, Rajneesh Sharma, while he was out for a walk with his wife and sister. The robbers shot him and snatched earrings from the two women.

Later the same night, the gang opened fire on one individual, seriously injuring him. In another robbery around 4 am on March 27, unidentified miscreants entered one home and looted gold earrings from a woman in the house, he said.

  Following these incidents, Tiwari added that multiple police teams were deployed to track down the suspects.

During interrogation, the accused revealed that they posed as sellers of ceramic utensils and decorative items from Khurja city in Bulandshahr district. They had come to Ghaziabad during the Sinkri Mela last month and used their sales as a cover to identify and target potential victims during the day.

Police recovered a country-made pistol, one live cartridge and a spent cartridge from the gang members. The DCP added that the trio had been previously booked in multiple criminal cases across various districts.

Efforts are on to arrest the absconding suspect. PTI COR KIS AMJ AMJ AMJ