aligarh, May 25
Two criminals accused of robbing women were killed in a police encounter in Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh district on Sunday night.
The accused had allegedly snatched earrings from a woman on Sunday afternoon, following which the police launched an operation to track them down.
Late at night, police surrounded the suspects near Madhauli village. In the ensuing encounter, both criminals — Raza Mohammad and Momin — were killed.
According to police, Raza Mohammad, a resident of Rajapur village under Simbhaoli police station in Hapur district, had 40 criminal cases registered against him. Momin, a resident of Bulandshahr, had 27 cases registered against him. Two policemen were also injured during the encounter.
On the afternoon of May 17, several women from Bhakrola village, including Seema Devi, Kunti Devi, Sunita, Gudiya, Premlata, Kamlesh, Rekha, Poonam, Lalitesh and Kamlesh, had gone to the fields when two youths arrived on a motorcycle.
Brandishing a pistol, the accused threatened the women and forcibly snatched their earrings, anklets and other jewellery. When the women protested, the miscreants allegedly threatened to kill them before fleeing on the motorcycle.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Neeraj Singh Jadaun said, “For several days, continuous barricading and combing operations were being carried out to trace the two criminals. Police teams were deployed on all major and minor roads. On Sunday morning, in the Khair police station area, the two criminals, who were riding a motorcycle, opened fire on a police team and escaped. Following this, intensive checking was launched across the area.”
He said that after receiving information about their movement, police teams, with the help of UP-112, cordoned off the area and asked the criminals to surrender. However, the accused opened fire at the police team.
A bullet struck a police vehicle, while the bulletproof jackets of the Station Officers of Atrauli and Harduaganj were also hit. Two policemen sustained injuries in the exchange of fire. The two accused were killed in retaliatory firing and were later identified as Raza Mohammad and Momin.
Police said Raza Mohammad was accused in 27 robbery cases involving women and had allegedly targeted 40-50 women so far. A rape case had also been registered against him at Dankaur police station.
According to police, Raza Mohammad was released from jail in the last week of April. Soon after his release, he allegedly formed a gang again and resumed targeting women.
