Twin FIRs lodged, a day after bloody shootout in Chitrakoot jail kills 3 dons

LUCKNOW: A day after a dreaded gangster from west UP, Muqeem Kala, and another criminal, Merajuddin, were shot dead by a history sheeter, Anshu Dixit, inside district jail in Chitrakoot, police lodged two FIRs in connection with the shootout.
Dixit, who allegedly held five other inmates at gunpoint, was also killed in retaliatory firing from police. Cops recovered a 9mm pistol from Dixit.Chitrakoot jail superintendent, jailor, two head warders and a warder were suspended following the incident.
Muqeem Kala of Shamli was held responsible for the much publicised 'Kairana exodus', a phrase popularised by former BJP MP Hukum Singh, while Merajuddin was an aide of don-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari.
Anshu Dixit, a dreaded criminal and a sharp shooter, was languishing in Chitrakoot jail since December 2019.
He shot to infamy after his name figured in the murders of Lucknow University general secretary Vinod Tripathi and Gaurav Singh in December 2007 and then in the murder of CMO Vinod Arya murder case but was given a clean chit. In the first FIR lodged by suspended jail superintendent, SP Tripathi, police have accused Anshu Dixit of killing Kala and Merajuddin while in the second FIR, SHO, Karwi, Virendra Tripathi has accused Anshu Dixit of attempt to murder by opening firing on the police forcing the cops to open fire in retaliation.
In the first FIR, SP Tripathi said he was informed by jail staff that around 9.55am, inmate Anshu Dixit walked out of his high security cell and shot dead Muqeem Kala who was lodged in a temporary barrack as per Covid-19 protocol. Thereafter, Dixit also reached high security barrack of another inmate, Merajuddin, and shot him dead.
“Anshu held five other prisoners hostage at gunpoint,” he added.
“Superintendent of police, Chitrakoot, along with the district magistrate and PAC reached the spot and asked Dixit to surrender but he opened fire on cops and was killed in retaliatory firing,” Tripathi said.
The second FIR, lodged by Karwi SHO Virendra Tripathi, mentions the sequence of events which unfolded inside the jail and states that at least 26 rounds were fired by the police over a span of 105 minutes before Dixit could be gunned down.
He said around 10.35am police force entered the jail and by 11.45am climbed the rooftop of another barrack. Cops warned Dixit to surrender but he refused and opened fire on police teams.
“We neutralised him around 12.10pm,” said the SHO. The FIR was lodged under charges of attempt to murder, wrongful confinement, criminal intimidation and the relevant sections of the Arms Act and Section 7 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act against Dixit.
IG, Chitrakoot Dham, K Satyanarayan, told TOI that the bodies of all the three criminals were handed over to their families after post-mortem examination.
Officials said at least two bullet injuries were found on the body of Merajuddin, five on Muqeem Kala and four on the body of Anshu Dixit.
SP, Chitrakoot, Ankit Mittal visited the jail premises to interrogate inmates to find out the motive of the murders.
“We are yet to find any significant reason that could have triggered the shootout,” he said. On Friday night, Chitrakoot jail superintendent SP Tripathi and jailor Mahendrapal were suspended for laxity.
Prisons department transferred DIG, jail headquarters, Sanjeev Tripathi as DIG, prisons, Chitrakoot, while Shailendra Kumar was made the new DIG, Jail Headquarters.
Similarly, Jail superintendent, Kasganj, Ashok Kumar Sagar was made new jail superintendent of Chitrakoot while CP Tripathi from Ayodhya jail was made the new jailor of Chitrakoot.
Meanwhile, two head warders, Harishankar, and Sanjay Khare, and a warder, Amit Kumar, were also suspended.