Wednesday, March 29 2006 17:08 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Lucknow: The main accused in the Mehar Bhargava murder case Sachin Pahari was shot at and injured in an encounter with the police here but he managed to escape.

Senior Superindentent of Police Ashutosh Pandey said that Pahari was injured in the encounter but he escaped while two of his associates were arrested. Police is looking for him in all nursing homes here, he said.

The encounter took place in the crowded Kaiserbagh area, he added. Pandey said Pahari might have been hit by four-to-five bullets.

With the arrest of one more person today, the SSP said that total number of arrested have risen to three in this case. Police had specific information that Pahari had been hiding in Lucknow for the last couple of days, he said.

He said the encounter was a 'close one' and the entire area had been cordoned off as Pahari could be hiding in a house in the area. Police had taken enough precautions as it was a crowded area and they had to exercise restrain while exchanging fire, Pandey said.

Pahari was a 'hardened criminal' and used several aliases and was wanted in connection with several cases of murders and extortion, he added.