Karnal, Sept. 21 -- Six days after three men opened fire outside at a liquor vend near the Ladwa bus stand in Kurukshetra district and a jewellery store in Yamunanagar, Haryana Police on Saturday killed one of the shooters in an encounter at Radaur on the Ambala-Shamli highway. The accused, Rajat, alias Raju, belonged to Shergarh village of Indri in Karnal district and was a shooter of the gang led by Surya Pratap, alias Noni Rana. Rajat was booked in seven cases, including the two firing incidents of September 14, and carried a reward of Rs.50,000 on his head. He is the third hitman of the Kala Rana-Noni Rana nexus to be killed in an encounter in the past three months. The Haryana Police's special task force (STF) and Delhi Police joint team killed Romil Vohra of Yamunanagar in Delhi on June 24, while history-sheeter Bhim, alias Arjun, who belonged to Ayodhya, was shot dead in a police encounter near Ratouli road in Yamunanagar on July 31. Yamunanagar superintendent of police Kamaldeep Goyal said that 17 shots were fired from both sides in Saturday's encounter on the under-construction Ambala-Shamli national highway under the limits of Radaur police station. The police had got a tip-off about Rajat's presence in the area. The SP said that crime investigation agency (CIA)-1 in-charge Rakesh Kumar also received a bullet injury. "Both the gangster and the policemen were rushed to the emergency wing of the civil hospital, where Rajat died during treatment, while Rakesh Kumar was treated for the injury he sustained on his arm," SP Goyal said. On September 14, Rajat along with his two of his accomplices had opened fire outside a jewellery store in the Model Town area of Yamunanagar before shooting outside a liquor vend near Ladwa bus stand. The jewellery store is located a few metres from the SP's residence. The incident triggered panic as the gangsters escaped despite police presence in the area. Investigators said the firing was a part of an extortion conspiracy, but did not disclose the money sought by the gangster based abroad. Earlier, Rajat's accomplice, Aman Kumar was taken into police custody after he was injured in an encounter with Kurukshetra police on Friday night. However, the third accomplice is still absconding. Gangster Veerendra Pratap, alias Kala Rana, was extradited from Bangkok in 2022, while his brother Surya Pratap, alias Noni Rana, is based in an unidentified foreign country. In another incident, the STF arrested two shooters, who were responsible for last week's firing at an IELTS centre in Kurukshetra, on National Highway-44 on Thursday night. The STF said that both were undergoing treatment at the government hospital in Kurukshetra and were in police custody after they received bullet injuries on their legs. Gangster Deepak Nandal, who orchestrated the firing on a builder's office in Sector 45 on Thursday night, is suspected to be operating from London, officials of Haryana police special task force (STF) said on Saturday. Officials said that Nandal had left India somewhere in 2023 and lived in Dubai before shifting to London from where he is suspected to be operating his gang in Gurugram and other parts of the national capital region and Haryana. IG (STF) B Satheesh Balan said that Nandal had used his original passport to escape out of India. "We will find him no matter in which country he hides. We have arrested more than 10 of his gang members after he opened fire on a singer on July 14 and murdered his associate in the city on August 4. Those involved in the firing on the realtor's office will also be caught soon," Balan said. He said STF is already working to dismantle his entire gang operating in Gurugram and neighbouring areas. Meanwhile, police said that armed police personnel have been deployed at the office in Sector 45 where four suspected shooters had opened fire at least 30 rounds between 9.20pm and 9.30pm on Thursday on Nandal's direction after financial dispute over Rs.30 lakh with one relative of the firm owners. A police officer said that Nandal's previous criminal cases were yet not established and they were gathering details from Delhi police and different parts of Haryana to initiate necessary action against him....