Days after a man charged with rape and his three brothers allegedly hacked to death the victim for not withdrawing the case, the accused was arrested by Uttar Pradesh police following an encounter here on Saturday, police said.

Pawan Nishad, who was out on bail when he committed the crime, was shot in both his legs in retaliatory action after he opened fire on the police who had laid a siege nab him. The accused, carrying a cash reward of Rs 25,000, was arrested with a 315-bore pistol and live cartridges. He has been admitted to the district hospital for treatment, Superintendent of Police (SP) Brijesh Kumar Srivastava said.

The police had on Thursday arrested Ashok Nishad, another accused in the murder case.

Pawan was sent to jail for allegedly raping the 20-year-old woman of his village falling under the Maheva Ghat police station area in May 2022, they said.

The accused tried to put pressure on the victim for reconciliation after being released from jail on bail recently and when she refused, he, along with his three brothers, allegedly killed her with an axe on November 20, the police said.

The Special Operation Group (SOG) and the police team, acting on information, laid a siege near the Yamuna River on Saturday morning and the accused hiding there began firing on them, SP Srivastava said.

Two of the accused are still absconding and efforts are on to arrest them, he said.

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