VARANASI: A notorious criminal Harish Paswan, who carried a reward of Rs. 1 lakh, was gunned down in an encounter with the STF in Rasra area of Ballia district on Friday.
He was wanted in over 30 cases of crimes, including murder. He was also an accused of the murder of a former zila panchayat member Balbir Singh alias Jaleshwar Singh, who was shot dead on July 7 this year.
According to reports, ADG (Varanasi zone) Brai Bhushan had announced a reward of Rs. 1 lakh on Harish on Thursday.
The criminal had been absconding after the murder of Balbir. Acting on a tip-off regarding his presence in Rasra area, the STF team led by deputy SP DK Sahi swung into action to nab him. An encounter took place in the Rasra area after Harish opened fire on the police party. He was killed in the exchange of fire.
Besides criminal cases lodged against him in various districts of UP, he was also wanted in Bihar and Chhattisgarh. He was a resident of the Haldi area of the district.
Ballia SP Rajkaran Nayyar said, “Harish was wanted in 32 cases of heinous crime including murder, attempt to murder, loot, extortion, ransom and Gangster Act in four states. The police were behind him. He was going to meet his aides when the encounter took place.”
