Morkheri and two of his associates, Vivek and Praveen, were arrested while another Rakesh, a former wrestler, was shot dead in the encounter which took place in Alipur yesterday, Ravindra Yadav, Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime), said. Another associate Rinku managed to flee.
"Morkheri is one of the 'Top Ten' criminals and one of the most dreaded gangsters of NCR. Police in Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan had declared rewards for his arrests. His gang fired indiscriminately at police and in the ensuing exchange of fire Rakesh got injured and later succumbed to injuries," he claimed.
When intercepted in Alipur after a tip-off, the gang allegedly tried to escape after firing at police but were caught, he said.
"The bullet fired by the gang hit the windscreen of police gypsy and the driver had a miraculous escape as he ducked down and saved himself," he said.
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During interrogation, Morkheri told about crimes committed by him and his associates, including the murder of an Inspector Ram Kishan Dahiya in Rohtak in January this year, the ACP claimed.
The slain gang member Rakesh got admission in government College in Bahadurgarh. His father used to be 'sarpanch' of his village and has very good influence in the adjoining areas.
During his school days, he was inclined towards wrestling and started practising in Chattarsal Stadium from Jan 2003.
"In a very short span of time he became very famous in field of wrestling. He won Bronze medal in Senior State Wrestling Championship held in Delhi in 2006. In 2007 he won Gold medal in the same championship and became State Champion. In 2007, he also won Bronze Medal in Rajeev Gandhi Gold Cup," he said.