Wanted criminal killed in encounter with STF, cops in Vaishali; one associate arrested

Patna, Feb 6 (IANS) A major encounter took place in Bihar’s Vaishali district on Friday in which notorious criminal and wanted man with a Rs 2 lakh bounty on his head, Prince Kumar alias Abhijit Kumar was killed in a joint operation by the Patna Special Task Force (STF) and Vaishali Police. 

One of his associates was arrested during the operation, and illegal weapons and ammunition were recovered.

The encounter occurred in Hanuman Nagar, Digghi, under the Sadar police station area.

Acting on specific Intelligence inputs, a joint team of the STF and Vaishali Police raided a house where Prince Kumar was hiding.

During the raid, the accused opened fire on the police team, prompting retaliation in self-defence.

“In the exchange of fire, one accused was seriously injured. He was taken to Sadar Hospital for treatment, where he was declared dead. The deceased has been identified as Prince Kumar alias Abhijit Kumar, a resident of Husaina village under Goraul police station area,” said Vaishali, Superintendent of Police Vikram Sihag.

During the operation, one of Prince Kumar’s accomplices attempted to flee but was chased and apprehended by the police.

Illegal firearms and ammunition were recovered from his possession.

Prince Kumar was a close associate and sharpshooter of Subodh Singh, the leader of Bihar’s most notorious gold robbery gang.

He was wanted in more than two dozen cases related to murder, robbery and violations of the Arms Act and had been absconding for several years.

Prince first came into the limelight after the murder of a policeman at the Hajipur Civil Court in 2018.

He was later arrested and lodged in Beur Jail. However, he was brought to Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) on the pretext of medical treatment, from where he made a dramatic escape after allegedly hosting a mutton party for eight policemen, locking them in a room and fleeing the premises. Since then, he had remained at large.

Vaishali Police had recently pasted a proclamation notice at his house in Husaina village, but he failed to surrender.

The Bihar government had announced a reward of Rs 2 lakh for his arrest.

The Subodh Singh gang, of which Prince Kumar was a key member, was involved in several high-profile gold robberies, including in Asansol in 2017, Hajipur in 2019, Udaipur, Rajasthan, in 2022, Katni, Madhya Pradesh, in 2022, and Dehradun in 2023.

Apart from these cases, Prince Kumar had at least 28 other criminal cases registered against him.

Police officials said further investigation is underway to trace other members of the gang and dismantle the remaining network.

--IANS

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