Kendrapara: A wanted criminal was injured in an encounter with the police in Kendrapara district late on Sunday night.
The injured criminal, identified as Debi Prasad Das alias Litu, was admitted to the Community Health Centre (CHC) at Marshaghai from where he was shifted to the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack after his health deteriorated.
Acting on a tip-off, a joint team Marshaghai police and special squad police raided Tikhiri-Bouda road in the night. Seeing the police, Litu opened fire at the police but he was injured after a bullet hit his right leg after police retaliated.
Police later seized a country-made gun and a bike from his possession.
Police said Litu was released from the jail on February 16. Soon after his release, the people of Dhaniapada and Batira villages had lodged a complaint at the Patkura police station alleging that the anti-social demanded extortion money from them.
A native of Garajanga village in Kendrapara district, Litu has a number of criminal cases pending at different police stations in Kendrapara, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur and Jajpur districts.