Key Accused Behind NEET Aspirant's Murder In UP Arrested After Encounter

The Uttar Police has arrested one of the accused in Gorakhpur NEET student murder case and taken two others in custody. Accused, identified as Rahim, was arrested following an encounter in Kushinagar. Rahim reportedly suffered a leg injury in an encounter. This comes aftter a 19-year-old NEET aspirant was killed by animal smugglers on Monday.

Deepak Gupta, who was preparing for the medical entrance exam NEET, was killed on Monday during a cattle smugglers' raid to steal animals. According to local residents, cattle smugglers in two vehicles sneaked into the village around 3 am on Monday. They entered cattle sheds, untied the animals, and started loading them onto their vehicles. Someone raised an alarm, and the residents, including Deepak, stepped out of their homes and started chasing the cattle smugglers.

As Deepak followed fleeing smugglers, they pulled him into their vehicle and beat him up. The teen was later found dead, with a serious head injury, about 4 km from his home.

While locals have claimed Deepak was shot dead, police believes the man may have suffered the injury after he was pushed off the vehicle.

Following the death of the teenager, police from Gorakhpur and Kushinagar launched a joint operation and arrested Rahim in an encounter.

Ajab Hussain, another accused, was apprehended by villagers, said Raj Karan Nayyar, Senior Superintendent of Police, Gorakhpur. Ajab is currently in hospital.

"Another accused, Rahim, was wanted by the police and has been arrested in a joint operation by Pipraich police and Kushinagar police. The accused opened fire on the police team, and in the retaliatory fire, he was shot in the leg and was arrested," said Mr Nayyar.

Two other accused, Chhotu and Raju, have been taken into custody and are being interrogated.

"A reward has been announced against two other accused who have just been identified. Five of our teams are engaged in apprehending them. So far, four accused have been arrested in this case," he added.