Surat: An accused in a double murder case and notorious bootlegger, Shiva Takla, who had been on the run for the past 16 days, was arrested on Tuesday evening in a dramatic encounter near the Devadh checkpost. Takla sustained a bullet injury to his right leg after police opened fire in self-defence when he allegedly attempted to attack the police and flee.

According to police, Shiva Takla was being brought from Ahmedabad when, near the Devadh checkpost, he complained of nausea and asked to step out of the vehicle. Acting on humanitarian grounds, the police allowed him to get down. However, he allegedly began pelting stones at the police team and tried to escape. In the incident, the accused attempted to throw a large stone at a PSI, who dodged it, but the stone crashed into the police van. As the situation turned tense and the accused tried to snatch the revolver of the PSI, the police fired two rounds in self-defence, one of which hit Takla in the leg.

The injured accused was immediately shifted to SMIMER Hospital in a 108 ambulance. In the ambulance, Shiva could be seen with folded hands, pleading and saying, “Saheb, a mistake has been made. It won’t happen again. I won’t run anymore.”

Heavy police security has been deployed outside the hospital to prevent any untoward incident. Police said Takla’s condition is stable.

Shivakant Lalan Yadav, alias Shiva Takla, is a native of Pratapgarh in Uttar Pradesh and has at least 17 criminal cases registered against him, including murder, attempt to murder, bootlegging and physical assault.

The Godadara double murder case had sent shockwaves across Surat. On December 1, over a dispute involving the recovery of just ₹20,000, Takla and his associates allegedly kidnapped three youths and subjected them to brutal torture using wooden sticks, iron rods and kicks. To instil fear, the victims’ hair, moustaches and eyebrows were also shaved. Unable to withstand the torture, 22-year-old Soheb Sheikh died on the spot, while the body of another victim, Nazim, was later found near the Maharashtra border. Two other accused were arrested earlier, while Takla had remained on the run until Tuesday’s encounter. DeshGujarat