A dacoit carrying a reward of Rs 1 lakh on his arrest was killed in an encounter with the Special Task Force (STF) of the Uttar Pradesh Police in Ambedkar Nagar district on Tuesday, an officer said.
According to Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Amitabh Yash Asif alias Vicky Chhaimar was wanted in more than 20 cases of dacoity and murder in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan.
The encounter took place in the Bivana area when a team of the STF's Noida unit intercepted the accused. During the exchange of fire, the suspect sustained bullet injuries and was taken to a hospital, where he succumbed to injuries, he said.
A resident of Makanpur village in Kanpur Nagar district's Bilhaur area, Asif was wanted in the 2014 Shahganj dacoity case in Jaunpur district, in which a family was held hostage during a robbery.
Five members of the family were attacked with sharp-edged weapons, and two women later died of injuries. A reward of Rs 1 lakh had been announced for his arrest in the case.
The STF said a .32 bore pistol, a 12 bore country-made firearm, a large quantity of cartridges and a motorcycle were recovered from the spot.
According to the STF, Asif and his associates carried out armed robberies by holding families hostage inside their homes and allegedly killed those who resisted.
Asif's criminal record includes a 2013 dacoity-cum-murder case in Sultanpur, a 2014 double murder during a dacoity in Jaunpur, a 2015 dacoity and double murder in Kaushambi, a series of armed robberies in Muzaffarnagar in 2015 in which a woman was critically injured, and a 2021 murder case in Kanpur Dehat, the STF said.
