india

Updated: Jul 19, 2019 10:06 IST

Two constables were killed when unidentified gunmen attacked a police van and escaped with three prisoners in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal district on Wednesday evening.

“A hunt has been launched to arrest the criminals who attacked the van as well as the jail inmates who escaped with them,” Sambhal’s superintendent of police Yamuna Prasad said, adding that the attackers had also taken away the rifle of a constable.

The attack took place around 5pm when a police van carrying 24 jail inmates was returning to Moradabad after producing them in a court in Chandausi district. Gunmen riding motorbikes attacked the van in the Baniather area.

On hearing gunshots, the driver stopped the van and found constables Brijpal and Harendra Yadav, who were escorting the van, lying in a pool of blood. Three jail inmates travelling in the van escaped with the attackers. Scared passersby fled to save themselves from being hit by bullets.

Senior officials rushed to the site following which the injured constables were taken to a hospital, where the doctors declared them dead.

Additional security forces were deployed and all exit points of Sambhal district sealed immediately.