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Gangster Anil Dujana killed in UP police encounter, cops said he 'fired at team'
Anil Dujana had over 60 cases of murder, extortion and other criminal charges registered against him.
Gangster Anil Dujana, 36, has been killed in an encounter with a team of Uttar Pradesh Police's Special Task Force (STF) in Meerut. "Anil Dujana, a wanted criminal, was surrounded by our team in a village in Meerut on Thursday afternoon. Dujana fired at our team to escape and was killed in retaliatory firing," Amitabh Yash, the STF's Additional Director-General, said,
According to news agency PTI, the team that surrounded and killed Dujana was led by Brijesh Singh, an Additional Superintendent of Police with the STF.
Dujana - the resident of village in Noida's Gautam Buddh Nagar - had over 60 cases of murder, extortion and other criminal charges registered against him, police said. He operated largely in the National Capital Region and walked out of jail last week after bail in a murder case.
According to media reports, shortly after being released Dujana began threatening a key witness in the same murder case. Unconfirmed reports said he planned to kill the witness.
A report by broadcaster NDTV said the STF had planned to re-arrest him but Dujana and his gang resisted arrest and opened a gunfight that led to his death.
Dujana's death comes days after the deaths of gangster-politician Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf while in police custody in UP's Prayagraj. Atiq Ahmad and his son Asad - who was shot dead in another encounter with the STF - were connected to the killing of a lawyer, Umesh Pal, in February. Pal was a witness to the 2005 murder of Bahujan Samaj Party MLA Raju Pal.
UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath has been fiercely vocal about his government's crackdown on gangsters in the state; last week he hailed police for the number of criminals arrested and declared there is no place for mafia dons, ciminals, corruption or the corrupt in Uttar Pradesh.
"Before 2017, mafia dons and professional criminals would proudly wander on streets. Youths, women and traders were scared to venture out of their homes. Shops used to close before sunset and markets wore a deserted look… after 2017 (when the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party came to power), markets are open late in the night. Women can step out of their homes without fear (and) mafia dons and professional criminals are begging for their lives."
Yogi Adityanath made the comments while campaigning for next week's statewide civic body polls - elections in which the BJP is widely expected to claim a comfortable victory.
