Two contract killer brothers wanted in the daylight murder of journalist Raghvendra Bajpai were shot dead in an encounter with the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) and Sitapur police early Thursday morning in the Pisawan area of Sitapur district, police said.
According to additional director general (ADG), law & order, Amitabh Yash, the brothers, Raju Tiwari alias Rizwan and Sanjay Tiwari alias Shibu alias Shaqil Khan, were injured in retaliatory firing and died during treatment.
Police said both carried a reward of ₹1 lakh each for their alleged involvement in Bajpai’s murder on March 8, when the Hindi newspaper journalist was gunned down on the busy Lucknow–Delhi highway under Maholi police station limits in Sitapur.
The ADG said the duo committed the murder soon after being released on bail in a previous case.
Police said the brothers’ father is a Hindu and their mother a Muslim. Their official documents reflect Hindu names, while they were also known by aliases with Muslim names.
A senior STF officer said both had a history of violent crime, with over two dozen cases registered against them, including murder, robbery, and dacoity. Raju was accused in the 2006 killing of sub-inspector Parvez Ali in Lakhimpur Kheri and had allegedly snatched the officer’s revolver. Meanwhile, Sanjay was allegedly involved in the 2011 murder of one Devi Sahai Shukla in Sitapur.
{{/usCountry}}A senior STF officer said both had a history of violent crime, with over two dozen cases registered against them, including murder, robbery, and dacoity. Raju was accused in the 2006 killing of sub-inspector Parvez Ali in Lakhimpur Kheri and had allegedly snatched the officer’s revolver. Meanwhile, Sanjay was allegedly involved in the 2011 murder of one Devi Sahai Shukla in Sitapur.
{{/usCountry}}A joint team of STF and Sitapur police had been tracking the duo for weeks after their names came up during an investigation into the journalist’s murder.
Earlier, police had arrested temple priest Shivanand Baba and two others, Nirmal Singh and Aslam Ghazi, in the same case. During questioning, the trio allegedly confessed that the Tiwari brothers were hired as contract killers after Bajpai published reports against the priest.