UP police gun down gangster carrying ₹1 lakh reward in Gonda
The deceased had a long criminal history spanning over 23 years, with 53 criminal cases against him since 2002.
The Uttar Pradesh police gunned down a notorious criminal, carrying a cash reward of ₹1 lakh, during an encounter in the early hours of Tuesday in Gonda district, UP director general of police (DGP) Prashant Kumar said in Lucknow.
The criminal, identified as Sonu Pasi alias Bhure (45), was a resident of Karnailganj in Gonda. According to the police, Bhure had a long criminal record that spanned over 23 years, with 53 criminal cases of looting, robbery, theft, extortion and attempts to murder registered against him in Gonda and adjoining districts.
“Bhure was gunned down in retaliatory firing by the police team under Umari Begum Ganj station limits on Tuesday morning. The police have recovered one pistol and a country-made firearm from his possession,” additional director general of police (ADGP) KSP Kumar of Gorakhpur Zone said.
The first case lodged against him was way back in 2002, another senior police official said.
“Recently, a gang of thieves barged into the house of a person named Devideen, under Umari Begum Ganj police station limits in Gonda, and shot his family member when he woke up at night suspecting thieves on April 24. Devideen lodged an FIR under appropriate sections of Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita at Umari Begum Ganj police station,” the police officer said.
Three members of the Bhure gang – Brijesh alias Chottu Pasi, Pallu Pasi and Nan Munna Lodh – were arrested after they were injured during another police encounter on the intervening night of May 8 and 9; Bhure had managed to escape. ADGP Kumar had subsequently increased the bounty on Bhure to ₹1 lakh.
The UP police have gunned down 230 criminals in various encounters across UP and other states ever since the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) government came to power in the state on March 23, 2017.
In 2025 alone, 14 criminals have been gunned down in the first five months between January 1 and May 20.
