Two criminals shot dead in encounter with STF
PRAYAGRAJ: A team of special task force (STF) of Uttar Pradesh Police shot dead two armed criminals in an encounter in Arail area under Naini police of Prayagraj district late on Wednesday night.
The two criminals have been identified as sharpshooter Vakil Pandey aka Rajeev Pandey alias Raju (who was carrying a reward of Rs 50,000) and Amjad alias Angad aka Doctor, police said.
Hailing from Bhadohi district, both the criminals worked for gangs of Mukhtar Ansari and Munna Bajrangi, the police added. Deputy SP, UP STF, Navendu Kumar said both the criminals were accused in the daylight murder of Anil Tyagi— the then deputy jailor of Varanasi district jail—in November 2013. They also had many cases registered against them in various police station of the state.
One 9mm and one .30 bore handguns besides live bullets, empty shells and a bike were recovered from the site, Kumar added. The cop said they swung into action after getting a tip-off regarding the presence of the two sharpshooters, who following the death of Munna Bajrangi in July 2018, had started working for former Chaka Block chairman and a listed gangster Dilip Mishra.
Acting on this information, the STF team was carrying out checking near Naini Someshwar Nath Temple crossing late on Wednesday night when the two criminals riding a bike were spotted. When they were asked to stop, they tried to flee after opening fire on the policemen. However, their bike skidded and both criminals fell on the ground. Vakil Pandey, who was riding pillion, opened fire on the police team even as the other tried to run away. The STF team also fired back, he said.
“The exchange of fire resulted in both criminals sustaining gunshot injuries. They were rushed to SRN Hospital where they died during treatment,” he added.
As per the STF, the two sharpshooters had cases registered in police stations of Bhadohi, Sonbhadra, Mirzapur, Varanasi and Prayagraj districts in UP as well as Dhanbad district in Jharkhand.
They were also accused of being in contact with a criminal Aman Singh, who is lodged in Ranchi jail and is accused in the murder of coal trader and Dhanbad’s former deputy mayor Neeraj Singh.
“It has also been learnt that the duo was in Prayagraj also to commit a major crime,” the STF claimed.