Dreaded criminal shot dead in Noida

Sumedha Sharma

Tribune News Service

Gurugram, April 23

Gangster Balraj Bhati, operating in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Rajasthan for almost seven years, was gunned down by the Gurugram and Uttar Pradesh special task force (STF) in a joint operation in Sector 41 of Noida on Monday.

The encounter, which included a chase and firing of around 80 rounds from both sides, left two head constables of the STF, another man and a boy injured. All four were admitted to a hospital and were in a stable condition.

Considered to be the right-hand man of jailed gangster Sunder Bhati, Balraj had been managing the gang and carried a reward of 2.5 lakh on him — Rs 1 lakh each by the Delhi Police and Haryana Police and Rs 50,000 by the Uttar Pradesh Police.

He was wanted in connection with over 30 cases of murder, extortion and robbery, including that of murder of BJP leader Vijay Pandit in Dadri in 2014. He had reportedly hatched a plan to kill the Bulandshahr jailer after he was nabbed by the Uttar Pradesh Police.

According to the police, Balraj and two other criminals arrived in Noida via Kalindi Kunj by car. He was intercepted by the STF of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh near the traffic crossing of Sectors 49 and 41. The gangsters reportedly started firing on the police car and tried to flee.

Their car jumped the footpath just ahead of the traffic light. The trio left the car and ran for cover. Balraj entered a plot behind a shop, from where he climbed a wall to reach the terrace. He was cornered by cops on the terrace and killed in firing. His accomplices managed to flee. The police recovered a 9-mm pistol from the spot.

“Our team had credible information on his movement, which helped us in cornering him. It is major success as he was one of the most dreaded criminals and had been evading arrest for a long time,” said Saurabh Singh, STF officer in charge.

Bhati had been cornered by the Faridabad police in Khandsa village of Gurugram in June last year. Though his accomplice was shot at and captured, he escaped. His name was then included in the list of 23 dreaded criminals wanted dead or alive issued by the Uttar Pradesh Police.