Lucknow: In what some claim is the 11th encounter in the last 100 days, the police in Uttar Pradesh have gunned down a man who was the prime accused in the gangrape of two minor girls in Lakhimpur Kheri a few days ago.
According to the police, the gangster, identified as Talib alias Azam Khan, carried a reward of Rs 1 lakh. He hailed from Lakhimpur Kheri and had 17 criminal cases lodged at different police stations in the district.
Khan and his two associates Salman and Mukhtar, allegedly waylaid the two girls around 6.30 am on December 15 when they were going to attend tuition classes on their bicycles. The minors were allegedly dragged into a sugarcane field, before being raped. The accused then fled the spot.
The families of the two girls lodged a complaint and an FIR was registered.
After medical tests confirmed rape, the girls described the physical appearance of the three accused to the police. Based on the description and intelligence gathering, the three were identified as Azam, Salman and Mukhtar.
A team from the local police station got a tip-off about the movement of the accused – Salman and Mukhtar – in the area on December 20 and laid a trap. There was an alleged exchange of fire after the police ordered the duo to surrender. Both suffered gunshot injuries to their legs in the firing, the police said, as reported by The Indian Express.
The two accused gave details of the whereabouts of the main accused, Azam, during interrogation and Kheri police sought help from their counterparts in Sultanpur to trace the wanted gangster.
Kunwar Anupam Singh, SP, Sultanpur, told the media in a statement that they got information about the movement of Azam within the jurisdiction of Lambhua police station of Sultanpur. Acting on this input, Sultanpur Police and Lakhimpur Kheri Police jointly laid a cordon in the area.
Upon finding himself surrounded, Azam allegedly opened fire at the police team with the intention to kill. The police fired back in self-defence, injuring the accused. He was rushed to the hospital for treatment, where doctors declared him dead, the SP added.
Azam was already carrying a reward of Rs 50,000. This amount was increased to Rs 1 lakh after he was booked in the gangrape case.
