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In a joint operation, the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) and Moradabad police killed two wanted criminals in an alleged exchange of fire in the Bhojpur police station area of Moradabad district, officials said. The deceased have been identified as Asif, alias Tidda, and his aide Deenu, both residents of Meerut. The men carried cash rewards of Rs 1 lakh and Rs 50,000 respectively.
Police said the encounter followed specific intelligence about the pair’s presence in the area. A statement from the STF confirmed that officers recovered a car, three pistols and several cartridges at the scene. The bodies have been taken for post-mortem and further forensic examination, the statement added.
Police records show Asif faced some 65 criminal cases, while around 25 cases were registered against Deenu. The charges include robbery, dacoity, murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping, extortion, and other serious offences across western Uttar Pradesh and neighbouring states.
Asif, originally from Kalchina village in Ghaziabad, was living in Rashid Nagar’s Baniye Wala Khet locality in Meerut. Officials said he had limited formal education and was first booked in 2005 at Brahmpuri police station in Meerut for theft.
A history-sheet was opened against him on August 12, 2013, after which he was linked to a spate of violent incidents and organised crimes across Ghaziabad, Aligarh, Bulandshahr, Hapur, Muzaffarnagar, Moradabad and Saharanpur, as well as parts of Delhi, Haryana and Uttarakhand, the STF said.
The STF said the operation followed specific intelligence about the duo’s presence in the area and earlier incidents that prompted a focused hunt. Asif is accused of demanding Rs 1 crore from a property dealer, identified as Haji Jafar, and allegedly threatening to kill him when the demand was not met.
Investigators allege Asif and associates later entered Jafar’s office and took Rs 2 lakh in cash. On the night of September 27, two associates reportedly fired shots outside Jafar’s house; a related case was filed at Katghar police station in Moradabad.
ADG, Bareilly zone, Ramit Sharma, had earlier announced a Rs 1 lakh reward for information leading to Asif’s arrest. Deenu was described by investigators as a close aide and was wanted in the same and other cases.
Police said seizure documentation, ballistic tests and additional inquiries are underway. Senior STF and Moradabad officials are supervising the probe, and further action will follow forensic findings and witness statements.
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