UP: 2 life convicts on run for 12 years arrested from Gujarat

LUCKNOW: Two miscreants--on the run for the last 12 years in a double murder case in UP and convicted for life imprisonment by the Supreme Court--were arrested from Gujarat by the state Special Task Force (UPSTF) on Saturday.
The duo--Karunaker and Pushker Pandey--were carrying a bounty of Rs 50,000 each for a double murder case in Jaunpur during 1994. They were arrested on the basis of electronic surveillance and intelligence reports from Brahmanagar in Harni police station area of Vadodara in Gujarat.
SSP (STF) Rajeev Mishra told TOI that Karunaker and Pushker operated a fuel outlet on Mirzapur Road under Madiyahoon in Jaunpur district in UP . “In 1994, two brothers--Rajesh Singh and Brijesh Singh--who ran a private bus agency used to get diesel filled in their buses from the same petrol pump, but rarely used to pay money. One day, Pushker objected to this, which led to a brawl with the travel agents and later it turned ugly when the latter attacked Pushker. In the meantime, Karunaker opened fire killing the two travel agents and causing injuries to at least 25 others,” said Mishra.
Later, a court awarded life imprisonment to the duo, but they challenged its decision in the Supreme Court which convicted Karunaker and Pushker for life imprisonment in 2007, but the accused were on the run since then, said the STF officials.