A most-wanted gangster was killed during a joint encounter carried out by the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) Noida unit and Agra police in the Ekta police station area of Agra. The accused, Pawan alias Kallu, a resident of Sirauli in Loni, Ghaziabad, sustained injuries during an exchange of fire with police and was taken to a hospital, where he later died while undergoing treatment.
Pawan carried a reward of Rs 50,000 and was wanted in connection with an extortion case registered at Tajganj police station in the Agra Commissionerate. Police identified him as a shooter associated with the Randeep Bhati–Amit Kasana gang, a criminal network flagged by the Uttar Pradesh government for its involvement in serious organised crime. Authorities said he had more than 18 criminal cases registered against him, including four murder cases and two extortion cases. In an earlier murder investigation in 2021, a reward of Rs 1 lakh had also been announced for his arrest before he was eventually jailed in Delhi.
Investigators stated that during his imprisonment, Pawan allegedly developed links with the Himanshu Bhau gang operating out of Haryana. After his release from jail in 2025, he reportedly resumed extortion activities on a large scale and was allegedly planning major criminal operations across Delhi and western Uttar Pradesh in coordination with gang members.
During the encounter, police recovered a 9mm pistol that officials said had been looted in 2016 from a Uttar Pradesh Police constable who was serving as a gunner to an Additional District Judge in Greater Noida. Authorities added that Pawan used the same stolen weapon to open fire on the STF team during the operation. Along with the pistol, police recovered several cartridges and other weapons from the scene, and further investigation into the case is ongoing.
