The desperate criminal was wanted in several cases, including the Rekha Kinnar murder case
The desperate criminal was wanted in several cases, including the Rekha Kinnar murder case
It was 10 pm and silence ruled the streets at Noida's Sector 110. Just a few cops halted vehicles passing by for checking.
But it was not just a routine checking, as the cops were waiting for someone special.
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The hunter: Noida SSP AK Singh |
The man they are waiting for Atique came riding a Pulsar bike. He was cautioned to stop by the two cops standing at the police barricade. Atique tried to speed through, shooting at the policemen.
The cops returned fire. The desperate criminal was seriously injured in the ensuing gunfight.
Atique's accomplice managed to flee in the dark. The Noida police took him to the district hospital where Atique succumbed to the gunshot wounds.
Atique, a leader of a eunuch gang in Ghaziabad, was wanted in more than a dozen cases. He came to the limelight after he was made the prime accused in the murder of an eunuch from a rival gang.
"We had received a tip-off that Atique would comeu00a0 to that area. He was killed in a gunbattle with the police and two of his accomplices managed to flee. We have launched a manhunt for them," said Noida police SSP Ashok Kumar Singh.
Atique gunned down Rekha kinnar on April 24, aiming to muscle into the rival Pappu group which operates in Noida. In the absence of Pappu, who is in jail, Rekha was running the group.
The two gangs had some skirmishes earlier too. Atique had a long criminal history with various cases of robbery and attempts to murder registered against him in police stations across Noida and Ghaziabad.
However, eyewitnesses are questioning the authenticity of the encounter. Pradeep Kumar,u00a0 a local resident, said he didn't see anyone trying to flee. "There was no one on a motorcycle. No one ran away. A white car dropped a body which was followed by a police car. The police immediately fired some bullets and cordoned off the area. I didn't see any exchange of fire. This is a fake encounter," said Kumar.
