Below is a detailed, chronological account of how the Uttar Pradesh police killed a 19-year-old Muslim youth, Asad, in the early hours of May 31, 2026, in Ghaziabad. Asad was shot dead by police in an alleged “encounter” three days after he allegedly stabbed a 17-year-old Hindu boy, Surya Chauhan, over a personal dispute. Chauhan died in a hospital in Noida. This account is based entirely on statements by senior police officers and the criminal report lodged by the police after the alleged “encounter,” a copy of which has been accessed by The Wire. The statements and report leave questions unanswered: Police says it administered first aid to Asad to stem the bleeding before taking him to hospital. Yet their account does not disclose where he was shot, the nature of his injuries, or how many bullets struck him. What evidence links the escaped man to the shootout? Why was one police cartridge never found? New Delhi: Asad, a resident of Ghaziabad’s Khoda area, was wanted in connection with the stabbing of a local youth Surya Chauhan. Asad allegedly stabbed Surya during an altercation on May 28 that started over a dispute the two had over riding a bike, according to Ghaziabad police DCP Dhawal Jaiswal. When the two met again on May 28, things escalated and Asad stabbed Surya “in a fit of rage,” said the senior officer. Surya succumbed to his injuries the following day.On Sunday (May 31) morning, a little past 6.30 am, Uttar Pradesh (UP) police announced that Asad had been shot in “retaliatory fire” and died during treatment at a hospital. Asad had been on the run since May 28, and a bounty of Rs 50,000 had been declared on him, said Dhawal Jaiswal, DCP City/Trans Hindon, Ghaziabad.A couple of hours later, at 8.49 am, an FIR was lodged by Ghaziabad police on the complaint of Inspector Naresh Kumar Sharma, who led the “encounter” team. The FIR names two persons – Asad and a second unidentified person – and books them for attempted murder, dishonestly receiving or retaining stolen goods and possessing and using illegal arms. According to police, the shooting took place two kilometres northeast of the Indirapuram police station.According to inspector Sharma, the operation began at 1.57 am when he along with a sub-inspector, a head constable, two constables and a driver got into their service vehicle after an “informant” tipped them off that Asad and another person were travelling on a bike towards the Arthala locality from Hindon bridge. The two men were also allegedly armed.DCP Jaiswal said police received information that Asad was going to meet “some friends” to secure money so that he could make a getaway.While inspector Sharma and an accompanying sub-inspector were carrying service pistols with 10 rounds each, a head constable bore an AK-47 (with 20 bullets) and another constable held a pistol loaded with eight rounds.Inspector Sharma reported that they tried to gather public witnesses but could not find any due to the late hour.The officer then conducted a body search of his team members, which was followed by a search on himself, and concluded that nobody was carrying illicit weapons or ammunition.A photo shared by UP Police of the ‘encounter’ killing of Asad, accused of stabbing Surya Chauhan, a resident of the same Khoda/Khora, Ghaziabad locality in Uttar Pradesh where both lived. Surya died of his injuries in a hospital on May 29, 2026, a day after the incident.Following this, the police put up a barricade at Arthala T-point and started checking vehicles.Shortly after, police said they spotted a grey-black motorcycle coming from the Hindon bridge. There were two men on the bike, said Sharma, adding that a flashlight was used to indicate them to halt.However, they didn’t stop and instead accelerated the bike after taking a turn towards a kutcha path on the north end of the road, he said.Inspector Sharma said they chased after the bike in their jeep and that he used a loudhailer to identify himself as police and asked the riders of the bike to stop. However, the bike only moved faster, he said.Due to the uneven and sloping terrain, the motorcycle skidded and crashed into a pile of scrap, the police report said. The two men abandoned the bike and took shelter behind some Keekar (Babul) trees. They started firing at the police with “the intent to kill”, alleged Sharma.It was around 3:45 am when Sharma informed the police control room requesting them for reinforcements. His team then deboarded the jeep and took cover behind the vehicle and nearby trees. Sharma said he, in a loud and clear voice, asked the two men to drop their weapons and surrender. “But it had no impact,” he noted, adding that the two men kept firing.He alleged that the two men continued to fire shots, constantly changing their position and direction.Then, Sharma said, he, along with the sub-inspector and constable Anurag, moved towards the two men with the intent to put pressure on them and arrest them. Sharma noted in his report that while one bullet hit constable Anurag in his right hand, another flew past his ear.Inspector Sharma said that exercising his right to “self-defence”, he fired two shots while a sub-inspector fired a single shot at the two men. Police then heard loud cries of one of them writhing in pain.When the firing stopped, Sharma said the police approached the suspect and found him lying injured on the ground. “He was still breathing,” said the inspector, adding that the suspect was holding a .315 country-made pistol in his right hand. Sharma disarmed him with a gentle kick to his hand.The second suspect took advantage of the darkness and the thick foliage to flee the scene, said police. Head constable Jayveer Singh identified the injured suspect as Asad by shining a flashlight on his face, according to the FIR.At 3.55 am, inspector Sharma said he relayed information to his higher ups through the control room about the injuries received by Asad and constable Anurag. A bullet also struck the left headlight of the police jeep, he recorded.Inspector Sharma said a first aid kit was pulled out from the police jeep. Using some cotton, “appropriate treatment” was provided to both the injured men to stop the blood flow from their wounds.The police, however, did not specify on what body part Asad was hit or how many bullets struck him.Meanwhile, a sub-inspector and head constable chased after the second person who had allegedly fled the scene. Soon, the station house officer of Indirapuram, where the shooting took place, Ravindra Gautam, along with his team reached the spot. They took Asad and constable Anurag to the nearest hospital in a bid to “save their lives,” said Sharma. SHO Indirapuram informed Sharma that the two injured men were admitted in Atlanta hospital and were receiving treatment.In the meantime, the SI and head constable who had chased after the second unidentified person, returned and reported that the suspect could not be traced.At 5:04 am, SHO Gautam informed the police control room that doctors had declared Asad dead.A field unit team with two head constables arrived at the scene of the shooting and sealed it with yellow tape. The scene was also videographed and photographed.Police said that along with a .315 country-made pistol allegedly recovered from Asad, seven spent cartridges were found at the site. Two spent cartridges of a 9mm pistol, used by the police, were also recovered. Despite a thorough search, a third 9mm cartridge was never found.Inspector Sharma said he sniffed the barrel of the .315 bore pistol and observed that the scent of freshly fired gunpowder was in the air. The pistol was placed in a white cloth, which was sealed and stamped.The police also said that the bike recovered had been stolen from a location in east Delhi in February this year. The bike was registered in Delhi.An FIR had been lodged regarding the theft of the bike at Gazipur police station, said Inspector Sharma.Police did not find any independent witnesses during the “encounter.”Inspector Sharma said that passersby were asked to provide testimony but they walked away after expressing their inability to volunteer. Throughout the entire proceedings, concluded inspector Sharma in his report, the orders and directives of the National Human Rights Commission and the Supreme Court, as well as the circulars issued by senior police officers, were duly complied with.The Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government recently declared that ever since it came to power, police had shot dead 289 persons or suspected criminals in alleged “encounters” while 11,834 persons were injured. In the last nine years, police had conducted 17,043 “encounters,” and arrested 34,253 persons or suspects.Eighteen policemen were killed and 1,852 were injured during these operations, the government said.The highest number of “encounters” were recorded in the Meerut zone, where 97 persons were shot dead while 3,513 others were injured in 4,813 operations.In Ghaziabad Commissionerate, where the latest incident took place, 18 criminals were killed in 789 “encounters,” the highest among all commissionerates in the state, said the government.Omar Rashid is an independent journalist.