Azamgarh encounter: STF guns down dreaded cattle smuggler; Waqif had Rs 50,000 bounty on head

VARANASI: In a joint operation late Thursday night, the UP Special Task Force (STF), Azamgarh SWAT team, and Sidhari police gunned down a notorious criminal carrying a reward of Rs 50,000 during an encounter with cattle smugglers in Azamgarh district’s Raunapar police station area.Waqif was wanted in several serious offences, including theft, cow smuggling, robbery, and murder. His three associates managed to escape under the cover of darkness.According to reports, police teams had launched a cordon operation based on intelligence inputs to intercept the gang near the Chhoti Saryu river, close to Jokahra village. When the police signalled them to stop, the criminals allegedly opened fire. In retaliatory action, one was killed while the others fled.Police said Waqif had over 67 criminal cases registered against him across multiple districts — Azamgarh, Gorakhpur, Kushinagar, Sant Kabir Nagar, and Jaunpur — for crimes ranging from cattle smuggling to murder.