Rs 1.25 lakh bounty criminal Lalan Singh, linked to 7 murders, shot dead in UP encounter

LUCKNOW: A notorious criminal carrying a combined bounty of Rs 1.25 lakh and wanted in several high-profile cases, including the shooting of a police sub-inspector, was killed in an encounter with Uttar Pradesh Police in Saharanpur, officials said on Monday.The accused, identified as Lalan Singh alias Lallan from Bihar's Samastipur district, sustained bullet injuries during a late-night exchange of fire with a police team on the Sarsawa-Nakur Road in Saharanpur on the intervening night of June 21 and 22.According to Additional Director General of Police (STF and Law and Order) Amitabh Yash, Singh was taken to a community health centre in Sarsawa after the encounter and later shifted to the district hospital in Saharanpur, where he was declared dead.Police said Singh was wanted in multiple serious criminal cases. He was accused of involvement in seven murders, including those of two sub-inspectors, a bank cashier and a security guard. Investigators also linked him to bank robberies, cash van heists and the looting of government-issued firearms.Officials said Singh was among the key accused in the shooting of a sub-inspector and theft of the officer's service pistol in Varanasi, as well as a robbery accompanied by firing in Chandauli.

Both incidents occurred in November 2022.A reward of Rs 1 lakh had been announced by the Varanasi police commissioner for information leading to his arrest, while Chandauli police had declared an additional reward of Rs 25,000.Police said Singh operated with his brothers and other gang members. One of his associates managed to flee during the encounter, and search operations are underway to track him down.(With PTI inputs)