STF kills criminal in Mumbai

THE SPECIAL Task Force (STF) on Sunday gunned down Kripa Shankar Chowdhary, a notorious criminal and close lieutenant of Munna Bajrangi, following an encounter in Mumbai. Kripa Shankar, who carried a reward of Rs 50,000 on his head, was wanted in connection with 36 cases of murder and abduction. 

Addressing a press conference here on Sunday,  SSP STF SK Bhagat said that the cops had received a tip-off about Kripa Shankar’s presence in Mumbai. Subsequently, a team led by deputy superintendent of police Arvind Chaturvedi was rushed there. As the criminal was spotted near Versova Link Road, firing started between the STF sleuths and criminal. But, the cops gunned down the criminal.

STF sleuths said that Kripa Shankar had committed several crimes in Varanasi, Mirzapur and Jaunpur. In 2002, he had killed a hotelier Suresh Chandra Sahu with an AK 47. He also killed a police constable during an encounter in Mirzapur.
During the encounter, while Pritam Singh, a dreaded criminal who carried a Rs 1 lakh reward was killed, Kripa Shankar managed to escape.

On April 4, 1997, he had killed four supporters of slain MLA Krishnanand Rai and started living in Mumbai. Kripa Shankar, STF sleuths said, was involved in extorting money from leather traders. Although  the criminal used to carry an AK 47,  the cops could not recover any such weapon from him after the encounter.
Meanwhile, our bureau from Varanasi reports: Cops in Varanasi and prominent traders were overjoyed to hear that hardcore criminal Kripa Shanker Choudhry had been gunned down by the STF of Uttar Pradesh in Mumbai on Sunday. Kripa Shanker was a resident of Hukulganj area under Cantonment police station in Varanasi. IG Varanasi zone had recently recommended Rs 1 lakh reward on his arrest.

An associate of absconding criminal of Jaunpur, Munna Bajrangi, Choudhry’s name had surfaced in the crime world when he shot dead three persons including a private gunner in Hukulgang area under the Cantonment police station in the year 2001.

Later, during an encounter at Lalganj area in Mirzapur, he along with other criminals, had shot dead  a station officer and injured two S-Is and an ASP.