Notorious gangster Aman Sao, accused in several murder and extortion cases, was shot dead when members of his gang attacked a police vehicle in an attempt to free him from custody in Jharkhand's Palamu district on Tuesday, officials said.
The incident in which one policeman was also injured took place a day after Director General of Police Anurag Gupta said most plots to commit crimes in the state are being hatched inside jails and executed with the help of gangs.
The police action earned praise from the leader of the opposition Babulal Marandi of the BJP.
The shootout happened on Tuesday morning when the gangster, convicted in several cases, was being brought to Ranchi from Raipur jail in neighbouring Chhattisgarh.
"Suddenly, members of Sao's gang attacked the vehicle in which he was being brought and attempted to free him near Chainpur in Ramgarh police station area, around 180 km from Ranchi, resulting in a gunfight in which Sao was killed and another police personnel was injured," Medininagar Sub-divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Manibhushan Prasad said.
Officials said that as his gang members launched the attack to free him, Sao snatched an INSAS rifle from an STF jawan and started firing while running away after coming out of the vehicle, prompting the police to retaliate in self-defence, leading to Sao's death.
Palamu Superintendent of Police Reeshma Ramesan said Sao was being brought to Ranchi from Raipur in connection with an NIA case.
"When the vehicle carrying Sao reached near Chainpur, the criminals ambushed it, exploded a bomb and fired. The gangster snatched an INSAS rifle from an STF jawan and fired at him while running away. He was gunned down by other security personnel, following which other gang members fled the spot," Ramesan said.
The injured STF jawan was hospitalised, while the gangster's body will be brought to MR Medical College and Hospital for postmortem examination.
Police said vehicular movement between Chainpur and Ramgarh has been halted and bomb squads have been deployed in case more bombs are being planted as the police have already recovered two.
Officials said Sao, who was lodged in Raipur jail, had been transferred to various prisons multiple times over the past three years but he continued to threaten businessmen across various districts and extort money.
Jharkhand DGP Gupta told PTI that Sao, also known as Aman Sahu, was being brought to Ranchi from Raipur.
Addressing the media later, Gupta said Sao was being brought to Jharkhand for production in court in connection with a case in Jharkhand.
IG Operations Amol Homkar, along with senior officials, reached the spot.
The issue was also raised in the Jharkhand Assembly, with JD(U) legislator Saryu Roy seeking clarity on the alleged encounter of the gangster.
"This is a serious incident. The House is in session. The government should table a report on this in the assembly," Roy said, raising the issue during Zero Hour.
Sao, who was involved in around 150 criminal cases, had written to the Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court, claiming that a conspiracy was being hatched to kill him by police officers, coal mafia, and politicians. In September 2019, Sao was taken into custody by Hazaribagh Police from Ramgarh Jail and later released on bail.
He was arrested in 2020 in connection with various cases.
Lauding the police action, Leader of the opposition Babulal Marandi said it would send a strong message to those who run a criminal empire in the state.
"This will be the fate of anyone who challenges the law. For the safety and peace of the public, strict action against such criminals is necessary. The police administration should continue its action with the same determination," said Marandi, a former chief minister.
The DGP had said on Monday, "Three gangsters -- Vikas Tiwari, Aman Srivastava and Aman Sao -- are running their operations from inside jails. Raids have been conducted in Simdega and Hazaribag jails." "Most crime plots are being hatched inside Jharkhand jails and executed with the help of criminal gangs. I have directed the officers concerned to take action against organised crimes under Section 111 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS)," the DGP added.
He had said efforts are being made to stop such activities inside jails and continuous raids are being conducted.
Gupta said an FIR has been lodged against 30 members of the Aman Sao gang on Sunday.
"We have some technical limitations. But, we have identified all those involved. Hopefully, they will be arrested soon," he said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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