STF guns down second accused in encounter

Uttar Pradesh’s Special Task Force on Monday claimed to have gunned down a second accused in the Sultanpur jewellery store robbery case in a pre-dawn encounter in Unnao district.

The accused, identified as Anuj Pratap Singh, was on the run in the Rs 1.5-crore robbery case and carried a cash reward of Rs 1 lakh on his arrest.

Additional Director General (STF and Law and Order) Amitabh Yash said Anuj Pratap Singh was gunned down in an exchange of fire with the STF in Unnao while his accomplice managed to escape.

The gunfight between Anuj Pratap Singh and the Lucknow unit of STF broke out around 4 am on Monday in the Achalganj area.

“The accused (Singh) was pronounced dead at the district hospital. Further legal action is being conducted...,” the STF said in a statement.

On August 28, jewellery worth approximately Rs 1.5 crore was stolen from Bharat Jewellers in Thatheri market of Sultanpur city under the Achalganj police station.

Eight suspects have been arrested in connection with the robbery. Vinay Singh, the alleged mastermind of the robbery, surrendered while the STH shot dead Mangesh Yadav on September 5. Four other suspects remain at large.

The gunning down of Mangesh Yadav, sparked a political controversy with the Samajwadi Party and the Congress calling the encounter “fake”.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of selectively targeting criminals based on caste.

The Uttar Pradesh Police dismissed the claims saying their actions were “completely impartial and based on evidence”.

The STF said in a statement that it received a tip-off on Sunday that Anuj Pratap Singh had come to the Ganga Katari area of Unnao with an associate, armed with deadly weapons, and the two would leave for Rae Bareli on a motorcycle at night with the looted jewellery.

Acting on the information, the STF team from Lucknow reached the Koluhagada-Achalganj underpass on the Rae Bareli-Unnao highway at 10:45 pm on Sunday night. The team split into two units and started checking after cordoning off the area.

A motorcycle was seen coming from Koluhagada at a very high speed. Seeing the vehicle, the informer told the STF team that it was Singh and his associate, the statement added.

“An attempt was made to stop the motorcycle, but the motorcyclist tried to turn the vehicle towards the unpaved road and slipped and fell due to grass and mud,” the STF said.

When the STF team asked the accused to surrender, Singh and his associate opened fire at the police personnel “with the intention to kill”, it said.

“Deputy Superintendent of Police Pramesh Kumar Shukla had a narrow escape and head constable Ravi Verma was hit by a bullet but survived because he was wearing a bulletproof jacket,” the STF said.

In retaliatory firing, Singh sustained a bullet injury and fell on the side of the road. He was taken to the hospital where doctors pronounced him dead, the statement said.

ADG Amitabh Yash said Singh was a resident of Janapur village in Amethi district.

Superintendent of Police, Unnao, Deepak Bhuker said Singh had a criminal record.

“Two pistols, seven empty cartridges, three live cartridges and a bag containing silver jewellery were recovered from his possession. A motorcycle was also impounded from the encounter site,” Bhuker said.

Sultanpur’s Superintendent of Police Somen Barma said that during the investigation of the robbery case, the names of 14 accused had come to light, out of which police had taken action against 11.

He said searches were being carried out to nab the remaining three accused — Arbaaz, Furkan and Ankit Yadav.