U.P.: Mukhtar gang’s shooter shot at, held with three aides in Lucknow

The accused Ravi Yadav was wanted in the five-year-old murder case of RSS worker and journalist Rajesh Mishra in Ghazipur district

The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) arrested a sharp shooter of Mafioso-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari’s gang after an encounter in which the shooter identified as Ravi Yadav alias Digvijay Singh also suffered a bullet injury during a retaliatory firing here early on Friday. The arrest was made near a central school in Aliganj police station limits in the state capital.

The arrest was made near a central school in Aliganj police station limits in Lucknow. (For Representation)

Ravi had been on the run ever since his name surfaced in the murder of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker and journalist Rajesh Mishra in Ghazipur nearly five years ago. The STF officials said Ravi Yadav, on whom the Azamgarh police had announced a reward of ₹25,000, was arrested along with his three accomplices Utkarsh Yadav, Umesh and Ravi Kumar Yadav.

Earlier, he was associated with the gang of slain gangster Prem Prakash Singh alias Munna Bajrangi, who was killed by another gangster Sunil Rathi inside Baghpat jail on July 9, 2018. After Munna Bajrangi’s murder, he started working for Mukhtar Ansari’s gang and has over 18 criminal cases of murder, attempt to murder and extortion against him.

Sharing further details, an STF official said the STF team had an encounter with Ravi Yadav when he came to Lucknow with the intention of committing a sensational crime and was injured in retaliatory firing when he opened fire after being asked to surrender.

He said the accused suffered a gunshot in his right leg and was later taken to a hospital. He said three illegal firearms and cartridges as well as a car in which they were travelling were also recovered.

The official said Ravi was involved in extorting businessman and contractors of Lucknow following which several complaints had been received against him in the past. He said Ravi’s another accomplice Rajesh Yadav was gunned down in a police encounter two years ago.

He said Ravi had shot to death journalist Rajesh Mishra at the behest of two Bihar criminals Ajit Yadav and Jhanku Yadav after Mishra published a series of stories on liquor smuggling in Bihar and illegal sand mining done by them. He said Ajit and Jhanku along with one Sunil Yadav of Chandauli were earlier arrested in the journalist’s murder but Ravi had been eluding arrest.