LUCKNOW, Oct. 12 -- A key accused in the murder and loot of Unnao cab driver, Yogesh Pal, in Sitapur, was injured in a late-night police encounter near Maunda Mod, under Lucknow's Para police station limits, on Friday. "The accused, identified as Ajay Singh alias Amarjeet, a resident of Pihani in Hardoi district, was shot in the leg during an exchange of fire with a joint team of Para Police and the Crime Branch," said the police in a press note. According to DCP West, Vishwajeet Srivastava, the police were conducting checks near the Kisan Path underpass service lane close to the Lucknow-Agra Expressway when a suspicious car approached. When signaled to stop, the occupants attempted to flee by reversing the vehicle, which lost control and got stuck on a divider. "Two men then stepped out, one managed to escape into nearby fields while the other opened fire on the police from behind a pillar," the DCP added. According to police, in retaliatory firing, Ajay Singh sustained a bullet injury in his leg and was rushed to Rani Laxmibai Hospital for treatment. Police recovered a .315 bore country-made firearm, a spent cartridge, and live ammunition from his possession. Preliminary investigation revealed that Ajay Singh and his associate Guru Sevak were involved in the September 29 murder of cab driver Yogesh Pal, a resident of Budheshwar in Lucknow, originally from Unnao district. Yogesh had left for Sitapur with an Ola booking but never returned. His body was found days later in a field near Sariyapur-Fukkha village in Sitapur, with his hands tied and face wrapped in tape. The accused had allegedly used tape on the number plates of the looted Ertiga car to conceal its identity, the same tape used on the victim's face. During interrogation, Ajay confessed to another crime, the October 6 murder of a driver in Shahjahanpur's Roja area, identified as Avneesh Dixit, whose vehicle was also looted. Police said Ajay Singh faces over half a dozen criminal cases in multiple districts. "A massive search is underway to trace his absconding accomplice, Guru Sevak, as investigators work to dismantle the gang's wider network of inter-district vehicle lootings and murders," said police....