Lucknow, Oct 22 : In a first of its kind encounter, an all-woman squad of UP Police carried out an encounter and arrested a cattle smuggler in Kushinagar district. The accused, Imamul aka Bihari, is a notorious smuggler wanted in 12 cases and carrying a reward of Rs 25,000. The encounter took place on Friday when the women police team intercepted Imamul. They asked him to surrender, but he opened fire. In the retaliatory firing, he sustained a bullet injury in the leg and was arrested. The operation was led by Barwa Patti station house officer (SHO) in Kushinagar, Suman Singh. Other cops in the team were sub-inspectors Princi Pandey and Chanda Yadav, and constables Sangeeta Yadav and Priyanka Singh. The team was on a routine patrol when they ran into the criminal. Hailing the team, Kushinagar SP, Dhawal Jaiswal said, 'Under the state government's Mission Shakti, aimed at female empowerment, women police personnel, too, are being prepared to tackle any challenge.' Inspector general, Gorakhpur range, Ravindra Goud, too, praised them and said their success indicated that women cops could handle any challenging situation. Suman Singh, 40, mother of a four-year-old boy, was promoted as inspector in 2022 and was given the charge of Barwa Patti police station two weeks ago on Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's instruction. 'Since joining the force in 2013, I had always wanted to be a part of encounters. During training, we were taught about responding to all types of situations, but never got a chance to do it until I was made the SHO,' said Suman. She added that no member of the patrol team thought twice before going ahead with the operation. Constable Priyanka Singh, 28, is from the 2018 batch and knows how to use various types of arms, including AK-47 and Insas rifle. 'I did not fear when a bullet was fired at us and gave a tough response by retaliating with equal force,' she said. Sub-Inspector Chanda Yadav, 29, who is from Azamgarh, said she had never thought she would be a part of an encounter. 'I used to watch in films that cops chase criminals and nab them after encounters,' she said. /IANS