BHOPAL: After six days on the run, 23-year-old Salman, accused of abducting, raping, and critically injuring a six-year-old girl in Gauharganj, Raisen district, was arrested from the outskirts of Bhopal on Thursday night.

Just hours after his arrest, while being taken in police custody from Bhopal to Gauharganj, Salman attempted to flee in the early hours of Friday in Obedullaganj, Raisen district. The escape bid ended after a short encounter that left him with a bullet wound in his leg.

“Tyre of the police vehicle in which Salman was being taken in custody from Bhopal to Gauharganj got punctured while passing through the forest area of Obedullaganj at around 3.15 am. Just when Salman was being shifted to another police vehicle, he snatched the gun from sub-inspector Shyamraj Singh and fired twice at the force. Alert cops subsequently opened fire, hitting his leg, and he fell down. He was taken into custody again and admitted to Hamidia Hospital in Bhopal,” a senior police official in central Madhya Pradesh told TNIE on Friday.

Earlier on Thursday night, the Gandhinagar police in Bhopal arrested Salman following specific inputs from local residents, after he was found searching for a room on rent.

“We were seated in a tea shop when he came and enquired about renting a room. When asked for ID, he said he didn’t have any. We had seen pictures of the absconding accused on TV and newspapers. Suspecting it was him, we alerted the police, who soon arrived and caught him,” local residents Rizwan and Asif told a TV channel.

Deputy Inspector General Prashant Khare (DIG-Narmadapuram Range) said the arrest was made based on specific intelligence.