New Delhi, Jun 9 (PTI) As gunshots resonated in south Delhi's Chhatarpur area today during a police encounter which left gangster Rajesh Bharti and three of his associates dead, locals said that they were caught unaware.

The surprised bunch of locals thought it was the noise of firecrackers.

"We thought it was the noise of crackers, but later we got to know that they were gunshots. Seeing so many policemen caused panic, but later we learnt that some criminals had been shot dead," Mohd Saddiq said.

The encounter had also left eight police personnel injured.

More than 100 rounds were fired by the gang members and the Delhi police's Special Cell in the shoot-out.

The deceased were identified as Rajesh Bharti, the gang's kingpin, Sanjeev alias Sandeep Vidroh, Umesh alias Don and Viresh Rana alias Bhiku. One of the criminals, who was injured, was identified as Kapil.

The entire area was cordoned off after the encounter.

Police officers said they had ensured that the locals were not harmed in any way during the exchange of fire. 

Another local said, "We had thought that there were some celebration at a farmhouse and crackers were being burst. But much to our surprise, it was police firing".

PTI SLB 

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