History-sheeter killed in encounter with UP STF

A member of a gang involved in highway robberies was killed allegedly in an encounter with the Special Task Force (STF) of the Uttar Pradesh Police on Monday, officials said. Accused Anil alias Amit alias Zoothra was wanted by the police in Mathura and Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh and Palwal in Haryana in at least nine cases, a senior official said.

Anil was tracked down by the Noida unit of the STF following a tip-off, the official said. "The accused got injured in the encounter which took place in the Naujheel area of Mathura this evening. He was taken to a hospital where he was declared dead by doctors," Additional Superintendent of Police, STF, Raj Kumar Mishra said.

There were three associates of Anil who managed to escape from the spot, he said. A reward of Rs 2 lakh -- Rs 1 lakh by Mathura police and Rs 50,000 each by Aligarh and Palwal police -- had been announced for Anil's arrest, he said.

"On January 20 this year, Anil along with his associates had waylaid a vehicle on the KMP road in Palwal and looted the passengers. They had also sodomised a 14-year-old boy during the incident," Mishra said. Six FIRs including those for dacoity and unnatural offence had been lodged against him in Palwal, two in Mathura and one in Aligarh, the STF officer said.