Lucknow: For almost two days, lone dacoit Ghanshyam ran circles around 400 policemen, trying to capture him. Finally he was shot dead, trying to escape from the house they had cornered him in.
Says Jugal Kishore, Additional SP of Chitrakoot: "We shot him when he tried to escape. There were so many people in the village. We faced many difficulties during the operation and that is why this encounter took so long."
Ghanshyam Kevat alias Rambabu ruled the ravines of Chitrakoot for years. He was one of the last dacoits in the area and had a 50,000 rupees prize on him.
Two days back, police got information that he was hiding inside a hut at a village.
They surrounded the house, evacutaed the villagers and even set fire to the nearby huts to smoke him out.
A raging gun fire followed. Four policemen were killed and 10 others, including the state IG and DIG, were seriously injured. But Ghanshyam continued to elude arrest.
Finally late on Wednesday night, the cops had to stop the encounter since they had no night vision devices to continue the operation.
This morning a fresh offensive was launched. The head of law and order in Uttar Pradesh flew in to take charge. But the dacoit armed with rifles and hand grenades continued to hold out. He even took two constables hostage.
Says Uttar Pradesh DGP Vikram Singh: "We tried to break the house he was hiding in but while we were doing that he jumped off the terrace into the forest in an attempt to escape. We followed him and after a brief encounter Ghanshyam was killed."
Finally on Thursday afternoon the man wanted for over two dozen murders, kidnappings and armed robberies was killed by the UP special task force.