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UP STF nabs notorious criminal carrying ₹50K bounty
Arrested from Uttar Pradesh’s Sultanpur, Kariya Lona lived under changed identity in Punjab, Haryana
The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) has arrested a notorious criminal who was carrying a reward of ₹50,000 and had been evading arrest by living under a changed identity in Punjab and Haryana after an attempt to murder case was registered against him in 2023, senior STF officials said on Tuesday.
The accused, identified as Kariya Lona, was arrested late on Monday night from Belkhariyapur village under Lambhua police station of Sultanpur district. According to an official press note, Kariya Lona was wanted in a case registered under Section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code at Kotwali Jalalpur police station in Ambedkar Nagar. Acting on specific inputs, an STF field unit from Ayodhya tracked his movement and arrested him at around 11.45 pm.
STF officials said to avoid arrest after the 2023 case, the accused fled Uttar Pradesh and worked as a labourer in Punjab and Haryana after changing his identity. He managed to remain underground for months before returning to Uttar Pradesh a few days ago. On his return, he began living in hiding in Sultanpur area.
The operation was carried out under the supervision of deputy superintendent of police Pramesh Kumar Shukla, with the team led by sub-inspector Saurabh Mishra. Officials said the STF acted swiftly after receiving information about the accused’s presence in Lambhua area.
During interrogation, Kariya Lona confessed to his involvement in multiple cases of theft, robbery and dacoity across Ambedkar Nagar and Azamgarh districts. He also confessed that his associates and he committed several dacoities in different parts of Azamgarh in 2019.
The police said the accused has criminal antecedents spanning more than a dozen cases, including serious offences under sections related to dacoity (395/397 IPC), attempt to murder (307 IPC), theft (380 IPC) and violations of the Arms Act. These cases are registered at various police stations in Ambedkar Nagar and Azamgarh districts. Following his arrest, Lona was handed over to Kotwali Jalalpur police in Ambedkar Nagar.
The STF officials said the arrest was part of an intensified drive against rewarded and absconding criminals, many of whom had recently become active again after long periods in hiding, adding that similar operations would continue across the state.
