LUCKNOW, June 7 -- About 24 hours after the alleged abduction and rape of a two-and-a-half-year-old girl near the Alambagh Metro station in Lucknow early on Thursday, the accused was killed in an encounter with the Lucknow police early on Friday, police officials said. The accused was identified as a 24-year-old man, Deepak Verma alias Nanhu, according to the police. The encounter took place near Devi Kheda under the Alambagh police station limits in Lucknow between 3 and 3.30am. He was identified through the number plate of a scooter after CCTV footage showed him arriving near the Metro station on the two-wheeler early Thursday morning, the police said. The police had declared a reward of Rs 1 lakh on the accused on Thursday after the rape of the toddler came to light. Deputy commissioner of police (central) Ashish Srivastava said, "CCTV footage was scanned and the accused, who had arrived on the spot on a white Scooty, was identified through the number plate. The Alambagh police were working on the case when an informant revealed that the Aishbagh resident (the accused) was trying to flee the city." "When the police went to apprehend him, he fired at the police. In retaliatory firing, cops shot him. He was critically injured. The injured Verma was rushed to Lokbandhu Hospital for treatment, where he succumbed to his injuries. Doctors confirmed his death and a post-mortem is being conducted as per procedure," Srivastava said. Giving more details, a press note issued by the Lucknow police read: "The person riding the scooter left the vehicle and aimed at the policemen with the intention of killing them, and fired a shot from his pistol, which missed. The policemen shouted at him that they were the police and he should surrender as he was surrounded. It did not affect him. He loaded another cartridge and fired a shot which hit the bullet-proof jacket worn by the inspector in-charge. The inspector fired two rounds from his official pistol in self-defence to avoid another attack by the accused. The person fell down injured due to the firing." "The action was taken purely in self-defense. The response was measured and controlled to apprehend the accused alive, but he succumbed to his injuries. The police recovered a country-made pistol and the scooty from the scene," the DCP added. The DCP also said the accused was a water vendor at railway stations. "He also used to organise religious processions," the police officer added. Deepak Verma alias Nanhu, originally a resident of Ram Nagar, Aishbagh, had been living at the Duda Colony, Chunnu Kheda under Lucknow's Para police station area, according to the police. "He had a history of serious criminal activities and was wanted by the police. Following the encounter, a case under Section 109(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (attempt to murder) and Sections 3/25/27 of the Arms Act was registered against him," the police said. Initially, an FIR was registered on Thursday under Sections 87/65(1) (abduction and rape), 137(2) of the BNS (kidnapping) and Sections 5/6 of the POCSO Act. Section 109(1) of BNS was added later. The accused was earlier booked in criminal cases registered at two police stations in the city. Charges for rioting, criminal intimidation and others were booked against him in these cases. "The accused has two criminal cases, one registered in Para in 2024 and another at Hazratganj police station in 2021," read details shared by the police. While the case at Para police station was booked under Sections 504 (intentional insult) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code, IPC sections 147 (rioting), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504, and 506 were invoked in the other. "The condition (of the toddler) is stable and (she) will undergo surgery," the DCP Central said about the victim. The toddler was allegedly raped near the Alambagh Metro station in Lucknow, one of the busiest zones in the city due to the presence of the Inter-State Bus Terminal (ISBT) nearby. The victim was picked up while she was sleeping next to her parents on the roadside early Thursday morning, police said. The child was found in a severely injured state, abandoned around 500 metres from the spot. This incident occurred close to the site where a woman from Ayodhya was abducted and murdered after a failed sexual assault attempt by an e-rickshaw driver and his brother earlier in March. That case had also raised concerns about women's safety in the city....