RAJKOT: In a cinematic chase reminiscent of 1980s Bollywood potboilers, a bootlegger was caught after he was shot in his leg in a retaliatory firing by the police in Malvan village of Patdi taluka in Surendranagar district on Thursday night. A total of 239 bottles of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) worth Rs 23,900 were seized during the operation.
According to the details of the incident, the police had received a tip-off that a car carrying IMFL bottles was scheduled to pass by Malvan village on Ahmedabad-Kutch highway.
“When the car with the description given to us arrived we tried to stop it. However, it sped away, forcing us to chase it. After chasing the car for two kilometres, we overtook and made it stop. The accused suddenly opened fire at us,” said V N Jadeja, sub-inspector with Bajana police station, who had used a private car for the operation.
After firing one round on the police, when the bootleggers tried to drive in reverse, their way was blocked by a truck coming from behind. “The bootleggers then took a U-turn and tried to flee. However, their car went off the road and crashed against the boundary of a farm,” described Suresh Mundhava, a constable with Bajana police station.
There were two bootleggers in the car who jumped out of the car and fired two more rounds at the cops while running away from them. Sub-inspector Jadeja first fired two rounds in the air. However, when the bootleggers did not stop, he shot one of the bootleggers in his leg.
“The bootlegger fell down and was caught by the cops. He identified himself as Bismillahkhan Jatmalek, a resident of Kherva village of Patdi taluka. The bootlegger who managed to escape was identified as Abidkhan Jatmalek, a native of Gedia village of Patdi taluka,” said Jadeja.
The police took Bismillahkhan to Malvan primary health centre from where he was shifted to Surendranagar Civil Hospital where the police deployed security to guard him.
Meanwhile, the police launched a manhunt for Abidkhan who dropped his country-made pistol with two spent cartridges in the farm during the chase. The police have seized the firearm and the cartridges.
Abidkhan is a member of the Gedia gang involved in highway heists. He faces 13 cases including robberies, bootlegging and thefts.