Acting on a tip-off, police cordoned-off the highway late last night and asked the dacoits to surrender, district Superintendent of Police R P Singh told reporters here today.
Instead of surrendering, the dacoits began firing and in return police also opened fire in which four dacoits were killed and one managed to escape, Singh said.
Those killed were identified as - Pappu, Ram Kishan Adivasi, Ramnath Gurjar and Ram Khiladi Gurjar.
All of them carried a reward of Rs 10,000-25,000 on their heads, the SP said, adding that they were wanted in a number of dacoities and other criminal cases.