PRAYAGRAJ, Sept. 8 -- The Allahabad High Court has sought reports from senior officers of the Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan police after conflicting accounts emerged over the arrest of a theft accused from Jaipur and his subsequent injury in an alleged police encounter in Firozabad. A bench of Justice Ajay Bhanot and Justice Divesh Kumar Samant passed the order while hearing a writ petition filed by Riya Gautam, wife of the accused, Awdhesh. The court directed the additional director general of police, Agra Zone, to file his personal affidavit regarding the encounter. It also directed the commissioner of police, Jaipur, to submit a report on the incident. According to the petition, Awdhesh was working at a company in Jaipur. His wife had complained to the Rajasthan Police that on December 5, 2025, around 10 pm, police personnel reached the company premises and took her husband away without informing the family where he was being taken. The Rajasthan Police subsequently conducted an inquiry into the complaint. A communication issued by the assistant commissioner of police, Jaipur, stated that Awdhesh was wanted in a theft case registered at a police station in Firozabad. The Rajasthan Police report further stated that Awdhesh was subsequently sent to judicial custody in Firozabad and that Jaipur police personnel had accompanied the UP police team to provide assistance. However, the high court noted that this account varied from the version contained in the FIR regarding his arrest. As per the prosecution case in the FIR, an informer had provided police with information about Awdhesh's whereabouts. He and his co-accused were allegedly found near a cold storage on the road leading to Chittrai in Firozabad. The FIR stated that the accused persons challenged the police team and attacked its personnel with firearms. During the ensuing encounter, Awdhesh allegedly sustained a gunshot injury. Thus, while the Rajasthan Police account stated that Firozabad Police took Awdhesh from Jaipur in connection with the theft case, the UP FIR said he was found in Firozabad with co-accused and attacked the police team before being injured in an encounter. The petitioner's counsel alleged before the high court that Awdhesh had been injured in a fake encounter allegedly carried out by police authorities to burnish their credentials. Taking note of the contrasting accounts, the court directed the ADGP, Agra Zone, and CP, Jaipur, to place their reports before it. The court also directed that a copy of its order be communicated to the Jaipur commissioner of police through the Registrar General of the Rajasthan High Court. In its September 2 order, the court listed the matter for further hearing on September 17, 2026....