Meerut, May 19 -- Bareilly police have arrested the accused in the murder of a 23-year-old DElEd student whose body was found in a field in the CB Ganj area, after a late-night encounter on Sunday. The accused, identified as Ashok Kumar, a resident of Lakhimpur Bhika village under the Kemri police station limits of Rampur district, sustained a bullet injury to his leg during the operation and later confessed to the crime. The victim, Neetu Gangwar, a resident of Manpur village in the Sheeshgarh area, was found dead on Saturday afternoon in a field located nearly 400 metres inside from Jhumka Chauraha in CB Ganj. Preliminary investigation revealed that she had been strangled to death using her dupatta.Following identification of the body later in the evening, Anurag Arya, senior superintendent of police, constituted four police teams to crack the case. Investigators examined Neetu's mobile phone call details and scanned CCTV footage from areas near Shaheed Gate, where her maternal uncle lives, as well as outside her examination centre in Faridpur. The investigation led police to Ashok, who was identified as the prime suspect. According to the police, at around 11 pm on Sunday, teams of the Special Operations Group (SOG) and CB Ganj police surrounded the accused near the Tiulia underpass. Police said Ashok attempted to escape and opened fire on the team, prompting retaliatory firing in which he was shot in the leg. He was subsequently taken into custody and admitted to a hospital for treatment. During interrogation, Ashok revealed that he had studied at the school run by Neetu's father, Sompal Gangwar, in Manpur village, where he completed his high school education. He told investigators that he had known Neetu since 2020 and was infatuated with her. Police said that Ashok took Neetu on his motorcycle and pressured her to agree to marriage. When she reportedly tried to avoid giving a direct answer by saying she would consult her family, he strangled her with her dupatta and fled the scene. The SSP said that the police had questioned several other individuals during the investigation, but they were found innocent. He added that the accused had been repeatedly pressuring the student for marriage and killed her after she continued to avoid the proposal. The accused will be produced before the court after treatment....