Lawrence Bishnoi gang sharpshooter killed in Hapur: Uttar Pradesh Police

Uttar Pradesh’s additional director general of police Amitabh Yash said Naveen Kumar, a resident of Ghaziabad’s Loni, was critically injured in an exchange of fire and died at a hospital

A Lawrence Bishnoi gang sharpshooter, who faced 20 criminal cases such as murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, and robbery, was shot dead late on Wednesday in Uttar Pradesh’s Hapur, a police officer said on Thursday.

The scene of alleged sharpshooter Naveen Kumar’s killing. (Sourced)

Uttar Pradesh’s additional director general of police Amitabh Yash said Naveen Kumar, a resident of Ghaziabad’s Loni, was critically injured in an exchange of fire and died at a hospital. He added that the exchange was triggered after a joint team of the Special Task Force’s Noida unit and Delhi Police’s Special Cell confronted a group of armed criminals.

Police said Kumar, who was closely associated with gangster Hashim Baba, was first booked under the Arms Act at Delhi’s Seemapuri police station in 2008. In 2009, he was named in a murder case in Sahibabad and booked under the Gangster Act in Uttar Pradesh a year later. He was convicted in two cases in Delhi.

A second police officer called Kumar’s killing a major success in a crackdown on organised crime. “...sends a clear message to criminal networks operating in northern India. We are committed to dismantling these gangs and ensuring the safety of citizens,” said the officer. Police said Kumar’s killing is expected to disrupt Lawrence Bishnoi gang’s operations and networks.

The gang has threatened singers, industrialists, political functionaries, and sportspersons to extort money from them. It has resorted to killings if they fail to pay up.

The gang is spread across Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Bihar, and Jharkhand.