The Uttar Pradesh policeman, whose video of him shouting ‘thain thain’ (to mimic the sound of a gunshot) to fool and apprehend criminals when his pistol jammed in an encounter was widely shared on the social media, was injured in an exchange of fire with criminals in Sambhal district on Friday morning, police said.

The incident took place at Alia Kalyanpur village under Asmoli police station in Sambhal when sub-inspector Manoj Kumar, along with other police personnel, were involved in an encounter with a criminal, Saddam of Amroha.

Police said police personnel tried to stop Saddam and his accomplice who were fleeing on a motorcycle after seeing police near the village. Instead of slowing down their bike, the two criminals opened fire, injuring Kumar, the police said.

Police, however, nabbed Saddam, who was wanted in several cases of loot, theft and attempt to murder, after he was injured in retaliatory fire. His accomplice managed to escape.

Sambhal superintendent of police Yamuna Prasad said police had information about the two criminals riding a motorcycle. “When they were passing through the village, our team tried to stop them, but both fired at the police, injuring sub-inspector Manoj Kumar,” he said.

The video showing Kumar imitating the sound of gunshots during an encounter with criminals in Sambhal district of the state on October 12, had surfaced days afterwards and gone viral. During the encounter, one policeman was injured, while a criminal was also nabbed after being shot. The said criminal was wanted in a number of robbery cases and was carrying an award of Rs 25000 on his head.

First Published: Jan 05, 2019 09:15 IST