‘Faceless’ criminal shot dead by UP STF in encounter

Kanpur/Lucknow, Nov 19 (IANS) A criminal who has been ‘faceless’ for the last 20 years, Rashid Kalia a.k.a. Gauda, 45, was killed in an encounter with the UP Special Task Force (STF) in Jhansi, said police on Sunday

The encounter took place on Saturday

He had had over 50 criminal cases in different districts, including Kanpur, Lucknow and Jhansi registered against him, senior police officials confirmed.

The police had declared a reward of Rs 1.25 lakh on Kalia.

Additional Director General (ADG), STF, Amitabh Yash said it was difficult to ascertain Kalia’s identity as the state police did not have any photograph of him for the past 20 years. He said the police were chasing the faceless criminal for the past so many years.

“Kalia’s identity was ascertained with the help of some people who tipped us about his location and movement near the Mauranipur area of Jhansi on Saturday. Kalia had come there to target a person after taking a contract to kill him,” the official said.

The ADG said the criminal had several cases, including 40 murders and carried a reward of Rs 1 lakh from Kanpur Police Commissionerate and bounty of Rs 25,000 announced from Jhansi police.

He said Kalia’s criminal record was marked by his involvement in several high-profile cases, with the most notable being the 2020 murder of Pintu Sengar, a notorious gangster-turned-politician.

He said the accused was known for maintaining a low profile to evade law enforcement agencies. He faced charges for 13 serious crimes in Kanpur alone. The police, however, stated that they are further scanning his crime record in other districts.

The ADG said the accused was native of Mahoba but his operational area was Kanpur, Lucknow and Jhansi. He said the criminal used to frequently keep changing his location to evade arrest.

In a press note the STF officials said a DSP and an inspector rank officer were hit by bullets during the encounter but escaped unhurt as they wore bulletproof vests.

The official said the accused suffered bullet wounds during retaliatory firing and was declared dead when the police team rushed him to Mauranipur community health centre for treatment.

The police had recovered a factory-made pistol, two bullet magazines, a country-made firearm, cartridges and a motorcycle on which he was riding at the time of the encounter.

–IANS

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