Dacoit Dadua gunned down

Was wanted in 200 cases of murder, kidnapping, extortion in UP, MP

The Special Task Force (STF) of the Uttar Pradesh Police on Sunday gunned down dreaded dacoit Shiv Kumar Kurmi alias Dadua and nine of his associates following an encounter in the Billi Markundi forests of Chitrakoot district. Dadua carried a reward of Rs 5 lakh in Uttar Pradesh and Rs 1 lakh in Madhya Pradesh on his head. The dreaded dacoit was wanted in more than 200 cases of murder, kidnapping and extortion.

Senior Superintendent of Police, STF, Amitabh Yash said Dadua was identified by villagers and some former gang members. Along with him, his close associate Chota Patel, carrying a reward of Rs 20,000, and Angad were also killed, the police officer said.

A large quantity of arms and ammunition was recovered from the slain dacoits.

Story continues below this ad

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati has declared a reward of Rs 1 lakh each for the members of the police team that liquidated the gang, official sources said. The members of the team would also be given gallantry awards besides out-of-turn promotions.

Dadua had been a challenge for the police for the last 25 years and was active in Allahabad, Banda and Fatehpur districts of Uttar Pradesh and Satna, Chatarpur and Panna districts of Madhya Pradesh.

Yash said the gang used to influence politicians of the area and it was even considered essential to obtain its blessing before contesting Assembly and Lok Sabha elections. Contractors engaged in construction and other works in the region were forced to pay protection money to the gang.

Dadua had also intruded into politics recently and his younger brother, Bal Kumar, had contested the last Assembly elections in the state on a Samajwadi Party ticket from Patti constituency in Pratapgarh district but had lost.

Story continues below this ad

The dreaded dacoit, who was a resident of Deokali village in the district, had escaped from police custody in 1975 after being arrested on charges of killing a man.

State police chief Vikram Singh told reporters that Dadua’s body would be preserved for two more days and added that a DNA test could also be conducted. He, however, made it clear that Dadua’s identity had been confirmed and termed the tests as a precautionary measure. A diary had also been recovered from Dadua’s possession and its contents were being examined, he said.

In another encounter in the Bairi forests of the Karvi area in Chitrakoot, the STF gunned down a member of another dreaded dacoit Ambika Patel alias Thokia. The STF team led by DSP Dhirenda Rai has recovered a large number of arms and ammunition from the spot. The STF team is combing the forest in search of Thokia and his other gang members. (With PTI)