Another accused in Sultanpur robbery killed in STF encounter

Two country-made pistols, cartridges, a bag containing silver jewellery, and a motorcycle were recovered from Singh’s possession, the STF said.

Unnao Superintendent of Police Deepak Bhuker said that Singh was first taken to a primary health centre where doctors referred him to the district hospital.

The STF said in a statement that it received a tip-off on Sunday that Anuj had come to the Ganga Katari area of Unnao with an associate armed with deadly weapons and the two would leave for Raebareli 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 Raebareli-Unnao highway on Sunday night. The team split into two units and started checking after cordoning off the area, it said.

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, it 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 (DSP) 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 the retaliatory firing, Singh sustained a bullet injury and fell on the roadside. He was taken to hospital where doctors declared him dead, the agency said.

Additional Director General of Police (STF and Law and Order) Amitabh Yash said Singh was a resident of Janapur village in Amethi district. His associate managed to escape.

The police have identified 14 persons for their involvement in the robbery case. While nine suspects are currently in judicial custody, three are still at large, each with a Rs 1 lakh reward on their heads, said a police officer.

Some people had looted jewellery worth Rs 1.5 crore from the shop in the densely populated Chowk area of Sultanpur at gunpoint on August 28. The police said that Anuj Pratap and Mangesh Yadav were the ones who entered the shop.

Mangesh Yadav’s death earlier this month had sparked political controversy, with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav alleging that the encounter was “staged” and that Mangesh was killed “because of his caste”.

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

He said searches are being carried out to nab the remaining three accused — Arbaaz, Furkan and Ankit Yadav. “Before this, Anuj Singh had committed a bank robbery in Surat, Gujarat, and had gone to jail in the case,” he added.

All the gold jewellery that was looted in Sultanpur, weighing 2.6 kg, has been recovered. The police have also recovered 30 kg of silver jewellery, Barma said.

— PTI inputs