E-Paper
Dreaded criminal carrying ₹2.5L bounty killed in police encounter in Bijnor
The number of encounter killings by U.P. Police in the last six years of the Yogi Adityanath government has went up to 180.
LUCKNOW Dreaded criminal Aditya Rana, carrying a bounty of ₹2.5 lakh on his head, was gunned down in a police encounter in Bijnor post Tuesday midnight. Rana had over 43 criminal cases -- including six murders and 13 loot cases -- registered against him. He had escaped from police custody twice in 2017 and 2022. He has been on the run since August 23 last year, when he escaped from police custody in Shahjahanpur.
Sharing further details, U.P. Police Special Director General (Law and Order), Prashant Kumar, said that the Bijnor police team intercepted Aditya Rana and his gang while patrolling under Syohara police station limits. He said Rana sustained injuries in retaliatory firing by police. He was rushed to a nearby hospital where doctors declared him dead.
The senior cop added that five policemen also suffered minor injuries in the cross firing by the criminal gang. They are -- Syohara police station in-charge Rajiv Chaudhary, inspector of Special Operations Group Jai Veer Singh, and constables Ajai Fauji, Arun, and Raees.
“Other members of the Rana gang managed to escape taking advantage of darkness. We are trying to ascertain their number. It is important to note that Rana (alias Ravi) operated a gang that committed loots in west U.P. and as many as 48 members of his gang are listed in the police records. Of the 48 gang members, police have arrested six so far. Efforts are underway to nab the rest of them,” added SDG Kumar.
Rana was selected in CRPF
Aditya Rana’s name first surfaced in a murder over personal rivalry in Kasimabad in 2013. This was at the time when he was just selected in CRPF. However, he could not join the paramilitary force as his name surfaced in the crime. He remained in Bijnor jail and was later shifted to Meerut and Lucknow jails. The police had an encounter with his gang recently on March 22 but he managed to escape while active member of his gang Chandraveer (alias Bittu) was arrested. His wife Guddi was also arrested with narcotics on August 29, 2022. She is in jail since then.
180 eliminated in six years
With Rana being gunned down, the number of encounter killings by U.P. Police in the last six years of the Yogi Adityanath government has went up to 180. According to records, 1,500 cops suffered bullet injuries during the these encounters. Meanwhile, 15 police personnel sacrificed their lives in the line of duty during exchange of fire with criminals in this period.
