LUCKNOW: Special task force (
STF
) of Uttar Pradesh Police gunned down gangster
Vinod Upadhyay
(48), who had a
reward
of Rs 1 lakh on his
arrest
, in an encounter in Sultanpur early Friday. "He had 45 cases of murder, dacoity and those under the Gangsters Act pending against him," director general (law and order) Prashant Kumar said.
Upadhyay had unsuccessfully contested the 2007 assembly election from Gorakhpur Sadar seat on a BSP ticket.
STF additional director general Amitabh Yash said Upadhyay and his gang used to operate in Gorakhpur, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar and neighbouring districts, demanding money from businessmen and threatening to kill them if they did not pay up.
"We received the information on Thursday night that Upadhyay was planning to kill a businessman," said STF deputy SP Deepak Kumar Singh. "The STF team informed the local police and reached Kotwali Dehat police station. At 3.20 am, the informer showed us Vinod's car coming from Lucknow. Our team tried to stop the car, but Vinod sped up. We chased him for about 2-3 km. In an attempt to escape, Vinod lost control over the wheels and hit a cemented block on the service lane. He came out of the car and started firing indiscriminately at the STF team. In retaliatory firing, he sustained bullet injuries," the DSP added.
The gangster was taken to Sultanpur hospital where doctors pronounced him dead, Singh said, adding that a submachine gun and a 30mm pistol was recovered from the encounter site.
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