Pratapgarh don shot in encounter

Lucknow: Lucknow: On a day, the UP police launched its biggest encounter blitz after a pre-poll lull, Pratapgarh don Tauquir Hafiz, who was carrying a reward of Rs 1 lakh on his head and dodging arrest for a year, was shot dead in an encounter on Thursday. While the Special Task Force gunned down the elusive don at dawn, police launched five other encounters against criminals in Kanpur, Barabanki and Azamgarh.Thursday’s encounter count of six is the highest this year, matching a similar record in March, 2018. Hafiz, 28, was wanted in more than 12 cases, including three murders and an attempt to murder. He was notorious for extorting money from traders and doctors through WhatsApp calls to avoid surveillance. He shot dead those who refused to cough up money. He had allegedly gunned down Pratapgarh trader Ashok Kumar on March 9 and earlier, on January 23, killed marble merchant Rajesh Singh in a similar fashion.
Hafiz had also shot dead a jail warder, Hari Narayan Trivedi, on December 27, 2018. He was the alleged mastermind of the Bank of Baroda robbery, which had taken place on September 14 last year. Several other cases were registered against him in different parts of the state, police said.
IG (STF) Amitabh Yash told TOI that the force was tasked to nab the don after a flood of extortion complaints last month. Around 3am on Thursday, a tip-off about Hafiz’s presence in Kotwali thana area was received and a team, led by the SSP of STF, was mobilised.
“The don was first intercepted near Antu police station, but he managed to escape on his bike. On the outskirts of Antu, he fired several rounds on the team chasing him. He was killed in retaliatory fire. The STF fired three rounds and he took two bullets. The don was taken to Pratapgarh district hospital, where he was declared brought dead,” said IG Yash.
Two .32-bore pistols, 10 magazines of 9mm pistols and a carbine were found on Hafiz, besides four mobile phones. His bike has been seized too, Yash said and added that the STF would now look for the don’s aides in Mumbai and Delhi, where he had hideouts.