NOIDA: A criminal involved in a dozen highway robberies was killed near Yamuna Expressway in Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh in an encounter with the Special Task Force (STF) and the local police early on Friday, officials said.
The incident took place around midnight when officials of the STF's Noida unit and Aligarh''s Tappal police station reached the spot on a tip-off, the officials said.
The deceased has been identified as Babloo alias Ganjaa, Additional Superintendent of Police, STF, Raj Kumar Mishra said.
"A credible input was received by the STF about some criminals, part of the ''Axle Gang'' that targets vehicles on the highways, planning robberies on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday. The STF team and the local police team reached the spot – a service road on the Yamuna Expressway – in Tappal area around 11.45 pm and surrounded the place," Mishra said.
"Soon the gang members arrived there and opened fire on the police and STF officials while trying to flee. One of them, Babloo, was injured in retaliatory firing and was apprehended but the others managed to escape," he said.
Babloo was taken to a nearby community health centre for treatment but was later referred to the Aligarh district hospital, where he succumbed to injuries and died, the officer said.
"The deceased was a native of Ballabhgarh in Haryana. There were at least 12 criminal cases registered against him at police stations of Delhi, Haryana and UP''s Aligarh and Bulandshahr. Most of the charges were related to dacoity and the Arms Act," he added.
According to the STF, Babloo's criminal history dates back to 2014 when his gang broke into a jeweller's showroom in Aligarh and fled with jewellery and cash. Similar incidents were repeated over the years, it said.
He and his associates often waylaid vehicles on the highway after throwing ''axles'' on their windshield and hence the gang earned the moniker ''Axle Gang''. They would also use twisted nails to deflate tyres of cars and then loot passengers on highways, the agency said.
Earlier in January this year, the gang was involved in a similar robbery in which it targeted a car in Haryana''s Palwal area and thrashed the passengers. The gang had tied the hands and legs of the passengers and also raped a 14-year-old girl, the STF said, adding the state police had announced a reward of Rs 50,000 on the arrest of criminals involved in the case.