MOHALI: In a shootout on Saturday near the Hindu shrine of Naina Devi in Himachal Pradesh , Mohali cops shot at a miscreant involved in a carjacking on Banur-Kharar road, injuring him. The carjacker later died at a hospital in nearby Anandpur Sahib . The 20-minute encounter took place around four hours after the snatching.The carjacker, Sunny Masih, was a Gurdaspur resident. Two of his accomplices, Goldy Masih of Dera Baba Nanak and Amanpreet Singh of Ratangarh village in Morinda, were arrested while the other two, Sanju of Moga and Varun of Ratangarh in Morida, managed to flee.Mohali SSP Kuldeep Singh Chahal said the cops gave chase after they were informed that five youths had snatched a Hyundai Verna car (UP-37H-7272) from a Mohali resident Navneet Kumar at gunpoint.According to police, it was the first carjacking carried out by Sunny, who was hit in the shootout near a dhaba, a few metres away from Naina Devi temple after the police team led by senior superintendent of police (SSP) Kuldeep Singh Chahal along with SP Harbir Singh Atwal and crime branch SHO inspector Tarlochan Singh asked the carjackers to give up.However, the carjackers opened fire at the police party and they retaliated.Police have recovered two .30 bore pistols from the shootout site. Two cops also received minor injuries during the shootout while trying to overpower the fleeing carjackers.The five criminals — two wielding arms — who came in white Ritz car, waylaid the Verna near Unitech housing society and took away the vehicle, firing at the vehicle owner and another person.SSP Chahal said a case was registered against five accused under Section 395 (punishment for dacoity), 307 (attempt to murder) of the IPC and 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act at Sohana police station.Makhan Singh, an eyewitness and an employee at a Naina Devi dhaba said three youths had come to the dhaba to have food around 2 am and left half an hour later after paying the bill.Even as he was clearing the table, he heard the sound of gunshots. When he came out, he saw the three youths firing at the cops. “I saw the youths were trying to hide and firing at the cops. We were surprised to learn that they were criminals. Within fw minutes, one youth was shot dead and others were arrested by the police. The shootout lasted for around 15-20 minutes.”

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