DM orders probe into encounter of man linked to Mukhtar gang

AGRA: A month after wanted contract killer Pankaj Yadav, who was charged "at least nine times" under the stringent Gangster Act from 2007 to 2021, was shot dead in an "encounter" with the UP special task force (STF) in Farah police station of Mathura, the district magistrate has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the Aug 7 incident. Yadav's father had at that time said his son was "killed in a fake encounter" and demanded a thorough probe.
Mathura DM Shailendra Kumar Singh has appointed a sub-divisional magistrate as the investigation officer.The DM said on Tuesday, "If any individual or organisation wishes to provide written or oral evidence or statement regarding Yadav's encounter, they may do so by appearing at SDM Sadar's office at 11am on Oct 1, 2024."
Yadav, who had a bounty of Rs 1 lakh on his head, was purportedly linked to late gangsters-turned-politicians Mukhtar Ansari and Bihar's Mohd Shahabuddin and had a criminal past of nearly two decades in eastern parts of UP.
The latest announcement came after the DM "deemed it necessary to comply with directions issued in the Criminal Appeal Number 1255/1999 by the Supreme Court in the case of ‘People's Union for Civil Liberties versus State of Maharashtra', which mandates a judicial inquiry into such encounters".
Around 5:20am on Aug 7, 2024, the Lucknow unit of the STF purportedly gunned down Yadav. DSP Dharmendra Kumar Shahi, stationed with the Lucknow unit, and his team were involved in the operation. The STF had filed a complaint at Farah police station stating that Yadav had been "absconding for over 16 years".
An FIR was registered under BNS sections 109 (attempt to murder), 351 (3) (criminal intimidation), 352 (intentional insult) and the Arms Act. The case is being investigated by the crime branch of Mathura police.
The FIR stated that STF was engaged in an encounter with Yadav, during which he was shot and injured and subsequently rushed to the nearest hospital, and he died. The cops found a pistol, a revolver, bullets and a two-wheeler from the spot. Another accused fled from the site, the FIR said.
STF officials further claimed that Yadav, a resident of Tahirpur village in Mau district, had at least 38 criminal cases pending against him. On July 31, 2024, ADG (Varanasi Zone) had declared a "bounty of Rs 1 lakh".
Yadav later formed his own gang involving youngsters from Mau, Azamgarh and Gazipur districts and oversaw tasks in alleged cases of killing, loot and extortion. He was living in Korba district of Chhattisgarh and was "planning to loot and kill a businessman in Agra", when the STF started closing in on him and his accomplices.