Lucknow: On April 13, 2023, two criminals, Asad Ahmed, and Mohammad Ghulam, were killed in an encounter with the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) in Jhansi, India. Asad Ahmed was the son of mafia leader Atiq Ahmed, and he and Ghulam were plotting to help Atiq Ahmed escape from police custody. The police learned of their conspiracy and were able to take action, thwarting their plans.
The encounter took place a few kilometers away from the Kanpur-Jhansi National Highway, which is the same route from where Atiq Ahmed had been transported twice from Gujarat to Prayagraj. According to the police, Asad and his companions had lain in ambush there for two days. Their aim was to launch a large-scale attack and free Atiq Ahmed from police custody.
The UP STF team was able to foil their plans due to its strong information system. After the encounter, DSP Narendra and DSP Vimal of UP STF lodged an FIR disclosing this conspiracy at Jhansi police station Baragaon. Navendu Kumar, Deputy Superintendent of Police, STF Field Unit, Prayagraj, and Vimal Kumar Singh, Deputy Superintendent of Police, STF Headquarters, stated in the FIR at Jhansi's Badagaon police station that Asad and Ghulam were wanted for a reward of Rs.5 lakh each for their involvement in the murder of MLA Raju Pal in Police Commissionerate Prayagraj's Dhumanganj area on February 24, 2023.
Krishna, an important witness in the incident, Kumar Pal alias Umesh Pal and his security personnel, two policemen constables Raghavendra Singh and constable Sandeep Nishad were killed in broad daylight by the shooters of the Ateeq gang. They fired shots and set off bomb blasts in Surrey market. A case was registered under Explosive Substances Act and CLA Act in relation to this incident, and fear had spread among the general public. The accused involved in the incident were identified from CCTV footage installed nearby. All the units of STF were directed to collect information regarding the wanted criminals and take action.
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During the investigation, the police learned that the criminal Guddu Muslim, who was wanted in connection with the same incident, had stopped at the house of one Satish Pandey at Parichha Power Plant, but he left before the police could apprehend him. The police received information that Asad Ahmed and Mohammad Ghulam were hiding in Jhansi City and its nearby towns. On Thursday, April 13, 2023, Deputy Superintendent of Police Navendu Kumar and Deputy Superintendent of Police Vimal Kumar Singh along with his team were present in Jhansi City.
The informer told them that Asad Ahmed and Mohammad Ghulam had been seen in the Chirgaon town of Jhansi on Wednesday night and could be found in Chirangav on Thursday. Vimal Kumar Singh's team was asked to stay near Badagaon and Parichha and gather information. Navendu Kumar along with his team came to Kaswa Chirgaon, laid siege, and activated other informers to gather more information.
In the town of Chirgaon, an informant reported that two wanted criminals, Asad and Muhammad Ghulam, was spotted leaving the town towards Parichha on a black and red Discover motorcycle without a number plate. Asad was described as wearing a white Pathan suit and a black cap, while his companions, Mohammad Ghulam Lower and Dak, were described as wearing green half T-shirts and handkerchiefs on their heads. The informar suggested that if the police acted quickly, they could catch the suspects from Chirgaon to Parichha.
After receiving the information Deputy Superintendent of Police Vimal Kumar Singh led his team to surround the suspects on their route toward Parichha. At 11:30 am, when Singh and his team reached 100 meters before the mode of the Parichha dam, they saw the two suspects on a motorcycle matching the description provided by the informer. The police tried to stop them by overtaking them and asking them to pull over. However, the suspects increased their speed and went on the raw road in front of the Parichha dam, trying to escape.
Singh's team tried to stop them by warning them, but their efforts were in vain. The motorcycle slipped and fell into an acacia tree below the unpaved road, and the suspects took cover on the ground and started firing at the police with the intention of killing them. The police team took cover and tried to catch them alive, but the suspects' indiscriminate firing forced the police to defend themselves by firing back.
The police successfully surrounded the suspects and made an attempt to stop them, but the suspects tried to escape by firing at the police. In self-defense, the police had to return fire back to stop them.
