Man involved in Sultanpur robbery killed in encounter

LUCKNOW A wanted criminal involved in a ₹1.5-crore daylight robbery at a jewellery store in Sultanpur was gunned down in an encounter with the police early on Thursday. The accused, Mangesh Yadav, was carrying a reward of ₹1 lakh on his arrest. He, along with four others, had robbed the store in Thatheri Bazar on August 28, said police.

Yadav was killed in retaliatory firing by an STF team led by DySP DK Shahi and DySP Vimal Singh in an encounter at Mishripur Muraina turn in Sultanpur around 3.25am, said ADG (law and order) Amitabh Yash.

He said the criminal was involved in the sensational robbery at a jewellery shop and a reward of ₹1 lakh was declared on him along with nine others wanted in the robbery case. Mangesh Yadav hailed from Jaunpur and had seven cases of loot, robbery, theft in Jaunpur, Pratapgarh and Sultanpur against him between 2021 and 2024.

Yadav was an active member of a gang operated by notorious criminal Vinay Singh of Amethi. Singh, with the help of Yadav and 12 others, planned and executed the Sultanpur robbery. The gang of 14, who executed the robbery, included nine members from Amethi, two from Jaunpur and one each from Pratapgarh, Azamgarh and Rae Bareli, said another police official.

Singh surrendered in a Rae Bareli court two days after the robbery. He had a long criminal history with around 34 cases of heinous crimes in five districts including Amethi, Rae Bareli, Fatehpur, Barabanki and Lucknow as well as that of a bank robbery case in Surat (Gujarat) in the past 17 years. Vinay was arrested around a year ago by the Surat police for the robbery at a bank in Wajgaon, Surat in August 2023 and was released on bail two months ago.

“After getting bail, he restructured the gang of 14 people, including three first-timers and executed the Sultanpur robbery after doing a proper recee of the shop. The gang moved to Rae Bareli after the robbery and moved into different directions while Vinay Singh strategically surrendered before a Rae Bareli court on August 31, two days after the robbery, after cancelling his bail in another criminal case pending against him,” he explained.

Singh did not share his plan with his aides and deserted them after executing the robbery. Three other gang members, Sachin Singh, Pushpendra Singh alias Dablu and Tribhuvan Kori, all residents of Amethi, were arrested following an encounter in Sultanpur on Tuesday. The trio suffered bullet injuries in their legs in retaliatory firing by cops, said the official.

In a post shared on X, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav accused the ruling party in the state of having “deep connections” with people involved in the Sultanpur robbery case.

He stated that Mangesh Yadav was killed intentionally in an encounter because of his caste while the prime accused Vipin Singh strategically surrendered in connivance with the police and the three other accused were shot in the legs in a fake encounter.

The SP chief said the BJP government is ‘Amrit Kal’ (golden period) for criminals, and the public understands how police shield real culprits.