Meerut: A gangster carrying a reward of Rs 1 lakh and facing 43 criminal cases was shot dead in an encounter with the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) near a closed factory on Alipur Road in Meerut's Lohiya Nagar police station area around dawn on Wednesday, officials said.
Police identified the deceased as Mohd Zubair, a native of Nausha village in Aligarh district who had been living in Shaheen Bagh, Delhi. He was rushed to Meerut Medical College with bullet injuries, where doctors declared him dead.
Additional SP, STF, Brijesh Singh said the team acted on a tip-off that Zubair was standing near the factory with an associate and waiting for other gang members to arrive. "Our team moved towards the location and spotted two men near a motorcycle, armed with pistols and a country-made firearm. When STF personnel identified themselves and asked the duo to surrender, the accused opened indiscriminate fire. Despite repeated appeals, Zubair continued firing. He was hit during retaliatory action, while his associate managed to flee the scene," Singh said.
Police recovered two .32 bore pistols, 10 empty cartridges, five live cartridges and a motorcycle from the encounter spot. STF said Zubair was a hardened criminal with more than 43 cases registered against him, including murder, robbery and Arms Act violations, across police stations in Aligarh, Delhi and other areas.
Officials said Zubair was involved in the murder of Aligarh Muslim University teacher Rao Danish Hilal, who was shot dead on December 24 last year, after which Aligarh police announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh on him. STF also linked him to the 2018 murder of an Aligarh University student, Shavez, and said intelligence inputs suggested that he had been planning the murder of a Meerut-based businessman.
Police said teams were trying to trace Zubair's associate who escaped during the encounter, while further investigation was underway to identify other members of his network and their role in past criminal cases.
