Coimbatore (TN), Mar 7 (PTI) A murder accused was injured in a brief exchange of fire with police after allegedly shooting at the personnel using a country-made gun hidden in a bush in Saravanampatti here on Tuesday, officials said.

Police said Sanjay Raja, the leader of a local gang in Coimbatore, was allegedly involved in the murder of a man in Avarampalayam area of the city a fortnight ago. He had surrendered before a court in Chennai a few days ago and was remanded in custody.

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Around 7 am on Tuesday, police took the accused to Saravanampatti in the city to recover a country-made pistol apparently used in the murder by the gang.

When the team was scouring the place for the weapon, Raja suddenly got hold of the gun hidden in the bush and fired a round at the police inspector, who managed to avoid it, they said.

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As he attempted to shoot at a sub-inspector, the policeman fired in self-defence on the left leg of the gangster, who fell down and dropped the gun, police added.

Raja was then taken to the government hospital where he is receiving treatment, police further said.

The pistol used in the firing was recovered by police.

Besides Raja, four other gang members surrendered before court at Arakkonam in Ranipet district a couple of days ago over the murder case.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)