Gorakhpur/Lucknow: A man accused of murdering former BSP functionary Kalamuddin alias Kamalu and carrying a reward of Rs 1 lakh was gunned down in an encounter with the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) and Gorakhpur police in the wee hours of Tuesday.The accused, Mustafizul Hasan alias Babu (40), had remained on the run for more than 15 years in connection with several serious criminal cases. According to the STF, he was finally arrested by the Azamgarh Police from Maharashtra in 2024. However, while being transported to Uttar Pradesh, he escaped from police custody in Maharashtra, prompting the registration of a separate case.Later, the additional director general of police, Varanasi Zone, Piyush Mordia, announced a Rs 1 lakh cash reward for information leading to his arrest.According to the STF, the encounter took place near the Ramnagar-Karjaha to Kushinagar lane under Khorabar police station limits in Gorakhpur district. The STF had laid a trap after receiving information that Mustafizul was travelling to Gorakhpur to meet an associate and was allegedly planning the murder of a prominent businessman in Azamgarh.The STF said Mustafizul was travelling on an unregistered motorcycle when personnel signalled him to stop at a checkpoint set up along the Lucknow-Kushinagar highway. Instead of surrendering, he allegedly attempted to flee. During the chase, his motorcycle lost balance and crashed.Police claimed that after falling, the accused opened indiscriminate fire at the STF team while abusing the personnel. One bullet allegedly injured a head constable, while another struck the bulletproof jacket of a second head constable. In retaliation, the STF returned the fire, critically injuring the accused.Mustafizul was first taken to a Community Health Centre and later referred to the district hospital in Gorakhpur, where doctors declared him dead. Head constable Mahendra Singh, who was part of the STF team, also suffered injuries during the operation. Both the accused and the injured police personnel were rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment. Their condition is stated to be stable.Police said the accused had a long criminal record dating back more than two decades. Investigators alleged that he was involved in an attempted murder in 2008, another attempt to murder in 2011, a murder in 2012, and another murder in 2021, besides cases involving criminal intimidation, theft, illegal possession of arms and escape from police custody.According to the STF, while absconding in 2021, the accused allegedly conspired with a gang member and Ali Sher, whom police described as a close sharpshooter of slain gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari, to murder Kamaluddin in his native village in Azamgarh. Kamaluddin had contested the 2012 assembly election from the Nizamabad seat in Azamgarh on a BSP ticket but lost to Samajwadi Party’s Alambadi Azmi.A case was registered at Mehnagar police station in Azamgarh under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code. Police said the accused remained absconding in the case, following which proceedings under relevant sections of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) were initiated against him.In several of these cases, he had been declared a proclaimed offender after repeatedly failing to appear before courts, with proceedings initiated under Sections 82 and 83 of the CrPC.The STF also alleged that he headed a criminal gang and had remained absconding in several murder cases while continuing to evade arrest.Police also seized a .32 bore pistol, a large quantity of live and spent cartridges, an unregistered Hero Splendor motorcycle, and a bag from the accused’s possession after the encounter.An FIR has been registered at Khorabar police station under relevant provisions of the BNS and the Arms Act in connection with the exchange of fire.
