The State police claimed to have achieved a major breakthrough in improving the crime situation in Western Uttar Pradesh when it gunned down the dreaded criminal and inter-State gangster, Rajesh Khatta and one of his associates, in a daring encounter covering Shamli and Saharanpur districts on Friday.
Announcing the elimination of Khatta, who carried a reward of Rs. 2 lakh, the ADG (Law and Order), Daljit Singh Chaudhary told journalists that the “crime scene in western Uttar Pradesh was quite disturbed on account of the gang”. Mr. Chaudhary credited the Shamli and Saharanpur police for executing the daring encounter and said the crime situation will improve in western U.P. Khatta and three of his accomplices in a I-20 car reached Thana Bhavan in Shamli district this morning with the intention of taking extortion money from a brick kiln owner.
With the Shamli police which had placed the four desperadoes under surveillance tracking them, Khatta and his accomplices went towards Saharanpur district where he switched off his mobile and sought refuge in a jungle near Halgoya village. The joint Shamli and Saharanpur police team laid siege of the jungle and in a encounter lasting for about two hours managed to gun down Khatta and his accomplice Dharmendra Binta. Two others were arrested by the police. The 1-20 car, a Duster SUV and a consignment of one SLR, which was looted from Charthawal police station in Muzaffarnagar, a nine mm carbine, two rifles and 300 live cartridges was seized by the police. Khatta belonged to Baghpat district. The other slain desperado was from Meerut district.
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The police said the Khatta gang had let loose a reign of terror in western Uttar Pradesh and was mainly active in Baghpat, Saharanpur, Shamli and Meerut districts. Mr. Chaudhary said 44 cases of murder, loot, dacoity and extortion were lodged against Khatta.