PATNA: The notorious criminal, Ajay Rai, who was killed in an encounter by the special task force (STF), was the mastermind of the gang involved in bank robbery and other loot incidents in Patna, Bhojpur, Haryana, Saran, and other places. He was planning a major robbery in Patna. He was killed in an encounter in the Sanjay Nagar locality in the Jakkanpur police station area of the state capital late Friday night.
An inspector of the STF was also injured in the cross-firing. He is being treated at a private hospital in Patna and is out of danger, said STF officials on Saturday.
According to the officials, the STF received information that Ajay was living in the area under a fake name, posing as a contractor. He was planning to execute a major crime. The team arrived at the scene and asked Ajay to surrender. Besides Ajay, there were two other criminals present. Both of them fled, but Ajay fired at the police. Subsequently, the STF took position and started firing. Ajay was hit by four bullets. In critical condition, he was taken to NMCH, where he died.
Additional Director General (ADG) of STF, Amrit Raj, said, “Ajay had a long criminal history. He was wanted by the police for a long time in connection with bank robbery and other loot cases. A pistol, mobile phone, 8 to 10 live cartridges, other belongings, and clothes of the criminals were recovered from the scene.”
The ADG further said that the STF was actively pursuing Ajay’s arrest. He was frequently changing his hideout. To evade arrest, he rented a room on December 9 in Savita Devi’s house on Sanjay Nagar Road No-10 in the Jakkanpur area of Patna.
“He presented himself as an electrical contractor and rented the house under the name Akash Yadav instead of Ajay Rai. He started living in the house from December 10. On Thursday, he gave his Aadhar card to the landlady. He was staying there with two other notorious criminals, Md Sahil and a young man named Vikas. We are trying to nab them,” the ADG added.
According to STF sources, Ajay was associated with the notorious Chandan Sonar’s gang. Chandan Sonar’s group is one of the biggest gangs involved in kidnappings. Ajay had 7 cases of bank robbery in Saran and several other districts. He also had a robbery case in Haryana. He formed his own gang three years ago. The police STF was searching for him for several months.