MEERUT, Oct. 5 -- A wanted criminal carrying a reward of Rs.1 lakh was gunned down by Muzaffarnagar Police during an encounter on Parasoli canal track there late on Friday night. The deceased, identified as Mehtab, 30, a resident of Sonta Rasoolpur village in Shamli district, was wanted in multiple cases of robbery, dacoity, kidnapping, and attempted murder. During an exchange of fire, Budhana police outpost in-charge Lalit Kasana and constable Aleem from Shahpur station were injured. Bullets also struck the bulletproof jackets of Budhana SHO Subhash Atri and Shahpur SHO Mohit Kumar. According to SP (rural) Aditya Bansal, "We got a tip-off about the presence of two motorcycle-borne criminals in the area. Acting on the information, teams from Budhana and Shahpur police stations launched checking operations along the canal track. When signalled to stop, the suspects opened fire on the police and attempted to escape." Two police teams jointly chased and surrounded the criminals near an abandoned brick kiln close to Jaula canal bridge. The miscreants retaliated by firing at the police, leading to an encounter in which Mehtab was shot at and injured. He was rushed to a hospital where doctors declared him dead. His accomplice, however, managed to escape. Police recovered a .32-bore revolver, a 9mm pistol with cartridges, a motorcycle, three tolas of gold, and one kilogram of silver from the slain criminal. SSP Sanjay Kumar Verma, who inspected the encounter site, confirmed that Mehtab had more than a dozen serious cases registered against him. A reward of Rs.1 lakh had been declared on his arrest....