13 THOKIA GANG MEMBERS GET LIFE TERM FOR KILLING 6 STF MEN IN 2007

Thirteen members of slain dacoit Ambika Patel Thokia’s gang were awarded life imprisonment for killing six personnel of the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (U.P. STF) in an ambush in Banda district to avenge the killing of the then most wanted brigand Shiv Kumar Dadua in 2007.

Special judge (anti-dacoity) Nupur pronounced the quantum of punishment in Banda, levying a fine of Rs 20,000 on each of the gang members and if they fail to pay, they would have to serve an additional sentence of six months, said government counsel Jai Prakash Sahu. Those convicted are Nathu Patel, Dev Sharan Patel, Shankar Singh, Chunbad, Shiv Naresh, Ram Babu, Ashok, Gyan Singh, Dhaniram, Kishori Lal, Dharmendra Pratap Singh, Kalyan Singh and Ram Prasad.

The Thokia gang had ambushed the STF team in the Kolhua forest in Fatehganj police area of Banda on July 23, 2007. The STF personnel killed were part of the team that was returning after gunning down Dadua hours earlier.

Thokia and his men had opened fire with automatic weapons on a vehicle carrying STF men and lobbed grenades. Another team that was behind the vehicle resisted the dacoits who then retreated into the jungles. Ishwar Deo Singh, Uma Shankar Yadav, Laxman Prasad Sharma, Rajesh Chauhan, Brijesh Yadav and Girish Chandra were killed in the ambush.

The FIR named 17 people and one of them Mohammad Anis was given a clean chit in the investigation. During the trial, the prosecution produced 29 witnesses in the case and none of them turned hostile. The lawyers of the accused Vichitraveer Singh and Ram Swarup Singh said they would study the court order and would comment thereafter. Thokia was killed in an encounter with an STF team in August 2008.