Surat Crime Branch officers on Thursday shot at the right leg of gangster Salman Mirza alias Salman Lassi, who tried to assault an inspector while evading his arrest.
Mirza has a criminal history spanning a decade, including 16 cases of murder, attempted murder and extortion, to name a few, and he was evading arrest in a case related to the murder of a young man in Onn on October 24.
Acting on a tip-off, various teams of the city crime branch reached Ashiana Street in Dabil village, Navsari. The police cordoned off a suspicious house and alerted neighboring houses to remain silent. I learned that the accused was in the back room while his wife and children were in the first room of the house. Police sources said that the accused hid in the back room after learning of the police’s arrival.
A police officer in the team said, “We identified six suspicious houses with possible presence of Salman. We searched the first house but did not find him. After that, our team knocked on the door of the second house. His wife opened the door. When asked about Salman, she denied it. Meanwhile, Salman, who was in the back room, tried to escape through the back door. A police team was already stationed at the back door. The cops asked him to surrender, but he refused and took out a knife and tried to assault the police inspector.” PK Sodha, in self-defense, shot his pistol at his right leg and injured him. The police overpowered him and arrested him.
Salman was immediately transferred to the New Civil Hospital, where doctors conducted initial treatment. “After reaching the spot, we informed the local Navsari police about our presence and asked them to help us. Salman tried to attack our raiding team, and in self-defence, our officer fired a single shot at Salman’s right leg below the knee. The bullet hit the leg portion and hit the nearby wall. At present, his condition is reported to be stable,” Surat Crime Branch Deputy Commissioner of Police, P P Rozia, said.
Rozia added: “There were four police inspectors along with 25 men in the operation. There were five individuals, including two minor children, in the house. The house’s residents included his wife, brother-in-law, parents and children. We believe that last month, he was moved to a rented house in Dabul and was staying with his wife and family.” Police sources said that Salman has an extensive criminal career spanning a decade. In the past eight years, 16 criminal offenses have been registered against him at Limbayat, Dindoli and Behistan police stations in Surat. He was also charged under the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism and Organized Crime Act (GUJCTOC) about a year ago and was released on bail.
It was the last murder recorded at the Behistan police station in the city of Surat.
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Surat Deputy Commissioner of Police Rajesh Parmar said, “On October 24, Salman Lacy, accompanied by three of his followers, attacked two youths, including a juvenile, near a tea stall in Onn. Salman, over an old enmity, attacked them with a knife and killed a youth identified as Shakeel Sheikh on the spot, while a juvenile was injured at that time. We have arrested three accused in the murder case, while Salman Lacy was on the run. We have learned that Salman has been arrested.” Surat Al-Jrimah is a branch of Dahabal in Navsari.
(tags for translation) Gangster assaults inspector
