Gangster Ranjeet Don killed in Bihar encounter
PATNA: A dreaded gangster in Bihar, wanted in several murder and robbery cases, was killed in an encounter with police in Madhubani district on Wednesday.
Ranjeet Don, aged about 50, had been evading the police dragnet for more than six years and was carrying a reward of Rs 50,000 on his head. Police had got a tip-off that he had arrived in Gobrahi village in the district and planned to execute some serious crime. A 30-member joint team of the district police and the Special Task Force (STF) surrounded a brick kiln in the village where he was hiding.
“Police asked him to surrender, but he fired at them. The cops fired in self-defence and Ranjeet Don alias Ranjeet Mahto was killed on the spot. Two sophisticated carbines and live cartridges were found at the encounter site,” said Deepak Barnwal, superintendent of police (SP) of Madhubani.
At least three members of Ranjeet’s gang who were with him at the brick kiln at the time of the encounter managed to escape, said the police. The encounter lasted for about 40 minutes, said villagers.
Sources said Ranjeet’s close aide Bala Mishra, who was arrested recently, had tipped off police about his plans to visit Gobrahi on Wednesday.
Ranjeet’s name used to spell terror in Bihar’s three northern districts of Madhubani, Sitamarhi and Supaul. He was accused of direct involvement in three murders, two attempt to murder cases, at least a dozen robberies and three extortion cases lodged in Madhubani and Sitamarhi districts.
Barnwal said Mahto and his gang members had robbed a petrol pump at Khajauli near Madhubani recently and escaped after firing at a police team that tried to nab them.