A hardened criminal, who wears talismans to withstand gunshots to escape arrest, was shot dead by the police during a fierce gun battle on Monday.
The deceased, only identified by eyewitnesses as Euro, was gunned down after he had shot Corporal Frederick Tawiah in the thigh with a foreign pistol to set free one Basit, a wanted armed robber, who was then in the custody of the police.
Corporal Tawiah is currently responding to treatment in a medical facility in Kumasi, capital of the Ashanti Region, while the lifeless body of the deceased had been deposited at the morgue.
Basit Crimes
Basit is a known hardened bandit, who had been on the police wanted list for some years now.
He has been linked with several high-profile robberies in several parts of the country, and has been accused of killing some policemen in the country in recent past.
Basit, reportedly, usually carried out his illegal activities in Tema, Accra and Kumasi.
Police had a tip-off that Basit and his cronies had taken refuge in an abandoned hospital project at Aboabo Akurem in the Asokore Mampong Municipality on Monday around 12 noon so a police team was quickly rushed there.
The police personnel, who reportedly invaded the scene in a taxi cab, initially managed to apprehend Basit peacefully and they (police) were in the process of hauling him to the regional police command to assist in investigations when suddenly Basit gave the order to shoot.
The cronies of Basit, who were hiding in the abandoned hospital, opened fire on the police personnel, which hit Corporal Tawiah, who was holding him.
The injured police man fell on the ground and Basit took advantage of the situation and fled into a nearby bush with two other notorious criminals, who are still at large.
The police, who were under severe attack, also returned fire and managed to shoot Euro dead.
Upon a search, several amulets, which were meant to make him immune from bullets, were found on the waist of Euro.
Sources disclosed that the exchange of fire was so severe that several houses and walls at the scene were riddled with bullets.
Other sources said even a sheep was hit by a stray bullet, killing it instantly.
According to reports, the police in Kumasi intensified the search for Basit and the others on Monday afternoon.
From I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi