LUCKNOW, Sept. 29 -- The Uttar Pradesh Police gunned down a dreaded gangster carrying a Rs.1 lakh bounty following an encounter in Muzaffarnagar district on Sunday evening, senior officials confirmed.

The accused, identified as Naeem Qureshi, was among 250 criminals eliminated in different police encounters across the state since the formation of the BJP government in March 2017, officials said.

According to Muzaffarnagar senior superintendent of police (SSP) Anant Prasad, the encounter took place when a police team was carrying out a checking drive near Kutubpur Jhal canal under Mirapur police station limits at around 5pm.

"When the police personnel tried to stop two men riding a motorcycle, they opened fire. In the retaliatory firing...