Listed gangster shot in police encounter

LUCKNOW: In yet another encounter with the crack team of the trans-Gomti police, a dreaded gangster, wanted in as many as 42 cases of heinous crimes, including 17 that of robbery, was shot dead on Tuesday evening. The gangster was a suspect in a series of dacoities committed in Madiaon police circle earlier last month.
Superintendent of Police (SP) (Trans-Gomti) Satyendra Veer Singh, who supervised the operation, said that there was information about the movement of this gangster Arun Shukla alias Raju in the trans-Gomti area for quite sometime now.He said that teams had been on his trail and, on Tuesday evening around 8:30 pm, luck smiled at the men in uniform when a harried scooterist approached a police picket on Sitapur road to inform how he was intercepted by three persons on Raipur road, about a kilometre and a half into the farm fields. He said that the three men were armed and tried to rob him of his two-wheeler and cash but the scooterist somehow sped away from the scene.
The picket police personnel then informed the Madiaon police and Station Officer (SO) RP Shahi along with his escort rushed to the site. They managed to spot three suspicious looking men on Raipur road who opened fire when the police tried to stop them. In the retaliatory firing, one of the miscreants was shot dead while the remaining two of his associates fled into the fields towards the village. A country-made pistol was recovered from the killed gangster.
Later, police recovered a diary from the person of the deceased youth in which the name of Raju Shukla was mentioned. A series of court dates and mention of Mohammedpur locality of Sitapur suggested his link with the adjoining district after which the Mohammedpur police was contacted.
The Sitapur police officials confirmed that history-sheeter Raju Shukla was listed with them and wanted in connection with a dacoity committed recently. Thereafter, they dispatched a team of police personnel who knew Raju Shukla by face. This team later confirmed that the deceased was none other than Raju alias Arun Shukla. SP Trans-Gomti said that efforts were on to trace the remaining two associates of Raju and combing operations were under way in the vicinity of the encounter site till late night on Tuesday.
This police crack team, comprising SP (TG) Satyendra Veer Singh, Circle Officer Gomtinagar Rajeshwar Singh and SO Madiaon RP Shahi have been gunning for gangsters operating in the trans-Gomti area. However this time, the team comprised only SP TG and SO Madiaon in the lead as CO Gomtinagar was on leave, but was involved in the collection of information. SP West Umesh Singh, who has served the STF and has been the core member of some high-profile cases., has also turned the heat against gangsters.