NEW DELHI: Omprakash, alias Bunty, fell as dramatically as his career in crime had risen in the past three months. The 30-year-old robber, whose biker gang had let loose terror on the streets of the capital, was killed in an early morning encounter on Monday at a half-built in south Delhi. Bunty and his accomplice, Rajesh Sharma (26), who also died, were holed up in the house for the past two days, plotting the murder of two businessmen.

With the encounter, the curtains came down on the one-and-a-half-month-long manhunt for the 5 feet, 8 inches tall school dropout which had taken the Delhi Police to various places in Delhi and NCR. Four policemen, including an inspector, were injured in the shootout at Saurabh Vihar near Badarpur.

The house reportedly belongs to the owners of Mittal Gardens. Police raided the property after getting a tip-off that Bunty and his accomplices were hiding in Delhi and had been threatening two businessmen — Pawan and Naresh Garg from Madangir — who were going to depose against him.

At 4.30am on Monday, a 25-member police team zeroed in on the house where the two criminals were sleeping. When asked to surrender, Bunty and Rajesh opened fire. As the sole entry to the house was locked from inside, the police returned fire through the window. According to the team members, the criminals fired at least 24 rounds. Finally, clad in bulletproof jackets, the policemen broke open the door and entered the house.