A team of police and the Special Operations Group (SOG) killed Shaitan (alias Iftikhar, alias Soldier), a criminal with a reward of Rs 1 lakh, in an encounter near Bilwa Bridge on Nainital Road on Thursday morning. SOG constable Rahul was also injured in the encounter.
The deceased criminal had 19 cases registered against him in seven districts. He was wanted in a robbery case at the Bithrichainpur police station. He was also involved in a 2006 robbery, which involved the murder of a priest at the Pachomi temple in Faridpur. In 2012, he escaped from police custody in Barabanki and was apprehended eight years later.
Police recovered a pistol, two magazines, 17 cartridges, Rs 28,000 in cash, a mobile phone, and a motorcycle from him. One of his accomplices managed to escape from the scene.
Shaitan, who frequently changed his name to evade police, was originally from Bari Chowk on Kadarganj Road in Kasganj. He was currently living in Jagat Batta village, near Tila Mod, in the Bhoopkhedi police station area of Ghaziabad.