Wanted Bihar gangster Nilesh Rai shot dead in encounter with UP STF

Noida: A Bihar-based gangster carrying a reward of Rs 2.25 lakh was shot dead Wednesday night in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar district following an encounter with the police, officials said.

The action was carried out by a joint team of the Special Task Forces (STFs) of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in Ratanpuri area of Muzaffarnagar, they said.

Nilesh Rai, who hailed from Begusarai district in Bihar, had 16 cases registered against him including those of murder, loot, and extortion, Additional Direction General of Police (UP STF and Law and Order) Amitabh Yash said.

"Today, in a joint operation of UP STF's Noida Unit and Bihar STF, there was an encounter with criminals in Ratanpuri police station area of Muzaffarnagar," Yash said.

"In the encounter, Bihar's notorious criminal Nilesh Rai, a resident of Begusarai, on whom a reward of Rs 2.25 lakh was declared by Bihar, was severely injured and later sent to a hospital for treatment where he died," the officer said.

On February 24, when a police team raided his hideout in Begusarai, Rai along with his companions opened indiscriminate fire at the Bihar Police party and fled, he said. One person was shot and seriously injured in the incident, he added.

Further legal proceedings in the case are being carried out, the police said.