The police claimed the two were criminals, killed in retaliatory fire after they shot at the police party that stopped them near Indirapuram around 5 am on Wednesday. The police said .315-bore pistols were found on the deceased. The police could not identify them till late evening.

Chowki in-charge Somdutt Kaushik was injured in the evening’s violence and is admitted in the district hospital, the police said.

According to officers, the duo, accompanied by two others, had forcibly taken over a vehicle (a Toyota Qualis) from one Naushad at Sahibabad late on Tuesday night. Having pinned down Naushad in the backseat initially, police said the four dumped him near Hindon river in Ghaziabad after injuring him in the ear and both hands with a knife.

They reportedly sped off with the Qualis thereafter — police said the car belongs to Naushad’s owners, while he was the driver.

Naushad, a resident of Zakir Nagar in South Delhi, told police he was returning from Saharanpur (western UP) last night when the foursome forced him to stop near Sahibabad.

Superintendent of Police (City) Anant Dev said Naushad was found in an injured state by patrolling officers, who then sent out a message to all checkposts, asking officers to keep an eye on the traffic in case Naushad’s car turned up. The vehicle’s registration number and colour were provided. “When the criminals reached Indirapuram, the police surrounded them,” Dev said.

While two managed to flee, the alleged criminals were shot in return fire, officers said.

But many in the protesting crowd that descended on the police chowki on Wednesday evening called it a fake encounter.

One Vakeel Babu claimed that one of the deceased was his nephew, Feroz; he said the other was the youth’s friend Raees. “Policemen picked up my nephew last night and then killed him and Raees,” he alleged.

Many in the crowd echoed: they claimed the duo had been eliminated since they were from the minority community.

Vakeel Babu said the family lives in Chaman Colony, Ghaziabad.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Akhil Kumar said the mob comprised people primarily from Kaila Bhatta, a village in Ghaziabad. Many, he added, also claimed were from areas such as Chaman Colony and Ismail Nagar.

“Some rioters said the two criminals gunned down this morning were Raees and Shokeen but we have not come across any member of their families,” SSP Kumar said.

Describing the damage wrought by the mob, SSP Kumar said, “The control room has been damaged. The chowki was burnt along with a few police vehicles, and chowki-in-charge Somdutt Kaushik is admitted in hospital with injuries.”