Kendrapara: Dreaded criminal Sheikh Nadeem was nabbed following a police encounter near Arjunpur under Patkura police limits in Kendrapara district in the wee hours today.

The criminal, who sustained critical bullet injuries in the encounter, was later admitted to the district headquarters hospital (DHH) here.

Acting on a tip-off, a special squad of police conducted a raid near Sanabetara on Korua-Narendrapur road at around 4 am today. Seeing the cops, Nadeem opened two rounds of fire at the cops in a bid to escape. However, the cops retaliated injuring him critically.

Police said more than 20 criminal cases are pending against Nadeem at different police stations in Tirtol, Kishannagar and Khordha.