UP: Woman held hostage in auto-rickshaw by two men rescued after gunfight with cops

A woman passenger held hostage in an auto-rickshaw by its driver and his accomplice was rescued after a hot chase by police leading to a gunfight that left the duo injured early on Wednesday in Uttar Pradesh's Greater Noida, officials said.

The gunfight broke out around 1 am in the Knowledge Park police station area. The 19-year-old woman had hailed the auto-rickshaw from Surajpur to go to Pari Chowk, from where she was supposed to take a bus to Agra but got forcibly held by the auto driver and his friend, they said.

"The local police had set up a checkpoint on Hindon Pusta road, where the station officer of the Knowledge Park police station intercepted an auto-rickshaw and signalled it to stop," Greater Noida's Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Vishal Pandey said.

"The auto driver, however, sped away while the police team heard a woman's crying for help from inside the vehicle and chased it," the officer added.

As the police team closed in on them, the driver stopped the auto-rickshaw and he and his accomplice opened fire at the police team, the additional DCP said.

At this, the police fired back, in which the duo suffered bullet injuries in their legs, the officer said, adding the woman was rescued while the accused were taken to a hospital for treatment.

"The woman had taken the auto to reach Pari Chowk, from where she was supposed to get a bus to Agra. But the auto driver who was accompanied by his friend had their intentions changed midway," Station Officer, Knowledge Park police station, Baljeet Singh told PTI.

The accused have been identified as Nadeem, a native of Bijnor, and Imran, a Greater Noida resident, both in their early 20s. Illegal firearms were also seized from their possession, the police said.

Initial probe revealed that Nadeem has previously been booked for molesting women in Greater Noida, they said.

A fresh FIR has been lodged against them at the Knowledge Park police station under Indian Penal Code section 307 (murder attempt) and the Arms Act. The accused were in the afternoon produced before a local court, which remanded them in judicial custody, Singh said.

Meanwhile, Police Commissioner Alok Singh announced a reward of Rs 50,000 for the police team involved in the case.