Dreaded Tajio shot dead in Gujarat encounter

The other two killed in the encounter were Gajendrasinh Kaluba Vaghela and Dayabhai, the former suspended and the latter dismissed as contables from police service.

Tajio (30), who hailed from Maliamiya in Rajkot, was unmarried but had two mistresses in Viramgam and Bavla, police said.

His associates were from Banaskantha district.

Pandya said the criminals, when cornered by the joint team of the city crime branch and Mehsana district police at about 0530 hours, opened six rounds at the police who returned 12 rounds of fire in defence, killing all the three.

The criminals were rushed to the civil hospital here with bullet injuries and were declared brought dead by the doctors, he said adding police have recovered from the slain criminals three country-made revolvers and a knife.

The Home Minister said that Tajio, who was operating an 87-member gang, with 66 of them languishing in various jails of the state, was arrested by the Mehsana police in January but escaped while being taken to court at Sanand.

Tajio, who was released in 1999 from jail after two years, in his criminal career spanning over 13 years, had killed eleven people and was operating a gang which specialised in looting `angadias’ (couriers). He had looted cash and valuables worth Rs one crore from people living in Rajkot rural, Surendranagar, Jamnagagar, Kutch, Mehsana, Banaskantha, Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad rural among other places.

Pandya said that Tajio, whose large number of relatives lived in Pakistan, was planning to eliminate three police informers and some police officials in different parts of the state.