Bokaro (Jharkhand) [India], April 2 (ANI): Police in Bokaro dealt a major blow to the operations of Prince Khan, arresting seven members and injuring one during an encounter. He is believed to be hiding abroad, possibly in Dubai and Pakistan, as his gang tried to establish a reign of terror in the city.

According to the police, the encounter unfolded after police acted on information provided by one of the criminals to recover hidden weapons in the hilly area of Tandbali Deeh.

'During the recovery process, the arrested criminal, identified as Prince Gupta alias Prince Bhatia, thought he saw an opportunity to escape and used one of the weapons to attack the police. Fortunately, no police officer or staff member was injured. In retaliatory firing in self-defence, the police shot him in the leg. He is currently receiving medical treatment and is safe and out of danger,' Police Superintendent Harvinder Singh said.

As per the officials, Prince Khan had allegedly been threatening industrialists and businessmen in Bokaro, demanding crores in extortion. He and his aides were attempting to expand their influence and establish terror in the city. Recently, he had threatened a project director of a steel company in the Bokaro industrial area for refusing to pay extortion, releasing a video that went viral and created panic.

'They are definitely anti-India and are working against our country's economy. Under the UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act), the definition of terrorism includes anyone who harms economic stability. These people are doing exactly that; they are working against India from abroad. Their sole objective is to create fear in society and extort money,' the SP added.

With the early morning encounter, the police celebrated a successful operation while Prince Khan faced a major setback in his efforts to extend his criminal network from abroad. In addition to Prince Khan, criminals were active under the names of Mayank Singh and Rahul Dubey. The police confirmed that the team involved in the operation had been deployed to prevent the gang from establishing dominance in Bokaro.

Police action came before the gang could consolidate power and spread terror, and it proved effective. Mobiles and weapons used to issue threats were also recovered during the operation.

SP Singh even clarified that, 'None of the individuals arrested so far are associated with any political party, and almost all have a criminal history.'

Prince Khan has been in the news previously for his association with the Wasseypur gang and has maintained a reign of terror across several areas in Jharkhand. He had deployed his aides in Bokaro to expand his criminal network and, along with Rahul Dubey, was reportedly collecting extortion across various districts. (ANI)