UP STF guns down notorious gangster carrying ₹1 lakh bounty

Vinod Kumar Upadhyaya had 35 criminal cases against him since 1999 and was most recently wanted in a case of extortion and criminal intimidation in Gorakhpur

The Special Task Force (STF) of Uttar Pradesh police early on Friday morning gunned down notorious gangster Vinod Kumar Upadhyaya, who carried a bounty of ₹1 lakh, during an encounter in Sultanpur district, Director General of Police (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar informed.

Representational image.

The STF team, led by deputy superintendent of police Deepak Kumar Singh, cornered Upadhyaya around 3.30am in Dehat Kotwali area of Sultanpur. The gangster was killed after suffering bullet wounds in retaliatory firing of the police.

Upadhyaya had 35 criminal cases against him since 1999 and was most recently wanted in a case of extortion and criminal intimidation registered against him in Gorakhpur in 2023, the DGP said. The then Gorakhpur additional DGP Akhil Kumar had announced the bounty of ₹1 lakh on the gangster on September 8 last year.

STF Additional Director General (ADG) Amitabh Yash said the criminal had an organised gang that committed several offences in Gorakhpur, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar and Lucknow districts.

Upadhyaya unsuccessfully contested assembly elections as a Bahujan Samaj Party candidate from a Gorakhpur constituency in 2007. His name was also in the list of 68 most-wanted gangsters issued by the state police.