Jaipur, February 13 A suspected drug smuggler was killed in an exchange of fire with police in the Pali district of Rajasthan, police said on Friday.
The Anti-Narcotic Task Force (ANTF) had received information about narcotics being transported in two vehicles. Acting on this tip-off, the team began pursuing the vehicles.
Inspector General of the ANTF, Vikas Kumar, said one vehicle managed to escape, and to stop the second vehicle, the team placed a spiked strip on the road, puncturing its tires.
"The accused traveling in the car opened fire on the team. In retaliation, the ANTF team fired, and the 36-year-old man, identified as Bhutto, was hit by a bullet and died," Kumar told news agency PTI.
He was rushed to a hospital in Pali, where doctors pronounced him dead.
Kumar said the team recovered the narcotics (doda chura), one pistol, and several live cartridges.
He said another man traveling in the same vehicle has been detained.
"The man who died was involved in several cases, including one involving the firing on police in Rajsamand in 2023," he said.