Ballia: Police gun down wanted criminal Harish Paswan in encounter

VARANASI: A notorious criminal Harish Paswan, who carried a reward of Rs one lakh, was gunned down in an encounter with the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) in Rasra area of Ballia district on Friday.
He was wanted in over 30 criminal cases including murder. He was also an accused in the murder of a former zila panchayat member Balbir Singh alias Jaleshwar Singh, who was shot dead on July 7 this year.
According to reports, the ADG (Varanasi zone) Brai Bhushan had announced the reward of Rs one lakh on Harish on Thursday. He had been absconding after the murder of Balbir. Acting on a tip off regarding his presence in the Rasra area, the STF team, led by the deputy SP DK Sahi, swung into action. An encounter took place in the Rasra area after Harish opened fire on the police party. He was killed in the exchange of fire.
Besides criminal cases in UP, Paswan was also wanted in Bihar and Chhattisgarh. He was a resident of the Haldi area of the district.