UP’s Ghaziabad encounter: man accused in child rape and murder case shot dead

A 55-year-old man accused in the rape and murder of his four-year-old niece was killed in a police encounter late Sunday night in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad district, police said.

The accused, identified as Jeeshan , was carrying a ₹50,000 reward on his arrest. Police said he was traced during a joint operation by local police and the Crime Branch following a tip-off about his presence near the Banthla canal in Loni.

According to officials, when the team attempted to intercept him, Jeeshan allegedly tried to escape and opened fire at the police , injuring two head constables. In retaliatory firing , he sustained bullet injuries and was taken to hospital, where he was declared dead.

Police said the case stems from a shocking incident on April 11 , when the accused allegedly lured the child from outside her home on the pretext of buying her sweets. He is accused of committing the crime at his residence and later disposing of the body in the Shalimar Garden area .

Investigators said CCTV footage earlier showed him at Delhi railway station while attempting to flee. Acting on sustained surveillance and intelligence inputs, police teams tracked his movements, leading to Sunday night’s encounter.

ACP Shalimar Garden Atul Kumar Singh confirmed the sequence of events, adding that the injured personnel are now out of danger . Weapons and cartridges were recovered from the spot, and further legal and forensic procedures, including postmortem, are underway.

Police have intensified security checks and search operations in the area following the incident.