Rampur, September 27: A criminal namely Zubair carrying a reward of Rs 1 lakh, who was absconding after the murder of NEET aspirant Deepak Gupta in Gorakhpur, has been gunned down in a police encounter on Friday night. Two police personnel were also injured in the operation, police said.
Zubair, prime accused in the murder of the NEET aspirant Deepak Gupta has been gunned down by the UP STF
Upon receiving information about the incident, Superintendent of Police Vidyasagar Mishra and other officers reached the spot and investigated.
The SP said that the criminal killed in the encounter was identified as Zubair alias Kalia, a resident of Mardan Khan Mohalla, Kotwali City, Rampur. He had been involved in the cattle smuggling business for eight years. On September 15, Zubair and his associates were loading cattle into vehicles with the intention of stealing them in Pipraich village of Gorakhpur district. Hearing of some suspicious activities, people woke up and ran to catch the smugglers, student Deepak Gupta, who was also chasing them, was abducted by the smugglers and was taken some distance away from the village and thrown away in which he died from head injuries. Enraged by the incident, villagers brutally assaulted a captured smuggler.
The SP further told that upon arriving at the scene, police officers handled the situation. Based on a complaint from family members, the police filed a case against 12 individuals and were searching for the escaped criminals. A reward was also announced for some of them. On Friday night, the Gorakhpur Special Task Force (STF) and Rampur police traced Zubair in the Rampur area. When police surrounded the criminal on the road leading to the Mandi Samiti, he opened fire, injuring Sub-Inspector Rahul Jadon and Constable Sandeep. Zubair was also injured in police retaliation. Police rushed all the injured to the hospital, where doctors declared him dead.
According to the Superintendent of Police, 17 cases were registered against Zubair in police stations across several districts, including Gorakhpur and Balrampur. The first case in Balrampur was filed in 2024. Of his brothers, Obaid has 24 cases registered against him, Zaid six, and Salib alias Talib eight.