Mukhtar gang shooter killed in encounter, DSP injured

LUCKNOW:

Anuj Kanaujia

, a sharpshooter of the

Mukhtar Ansari gang

, was shot dead in a

police encounter

in

Jamshedpur

, Jharkhand, on Saturday night, the UP STF said.
The operation was conducted by a joint team of the STF’s Gorakhpur unit and Jharkhand police. DySP DK Shahi of the STF was injured in the exchange of fire.
Kanaujia, 50, was on the run for five years and wanted in 23

criminal cases

, including murder, extortion, land grabbing, and arms smuggling. UP DGP Prashant Kumar recently increased the bounty on Kanaujia from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2.5 lakh to track him down.
“The operation was launched on the basis of intelligence inputs regarding Kanaujia’s movement in Jamshedpur. As the police team attempted to corner him, he opened fire, shooting nearly 20 rounds and even hurling a bomb in a bid to escape.

This forced the police personnel to retaliate, leading to a high-intensity gunfight. During the exchange of fire, DySP DK Shahi sustained a gunshot wound in his shoulder but continued leading the operation.
Eventually, Kanaujia was neutralised after sustaining multiple bullet injuries. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival,” said ADG, law and order, Amitabh Yash.
Police recovered two pistols, a large cache of live cartridges, and mobile phones from the site. The mobile phones will be scanned for possible leads on his criminal network, an officer said.
Kanaujia, a resident of Mau, had a long history of violent crimes and was one of the most feared operatives of the Mukhtar Ansari gang. His criminal record spanned multiple districts, with six cases registered against him in Mau’s Kotwali police station, five in Rani Ki Sarai, two in Dakshin Tola, and three in Chiraiyakot, apart from several others in Ghazipur and Azamgarh, the officer added.
In recent years, police intensified efforts to crack down on Kanaujia and his associates. As part of the statewide anti-mafia drive, authorities demolished his house in Azamgarh using a bulldozer, while his family members were booked under the

Gangster Act

and sent to jail, the officer added.