BAREILLY: Striking at the house of a Kargil veteran spelt doom for a gang of dacoits in Deoraniya Jagir village under Nawabgunj tehsil. The gang leader, who was caught by the soldier and his
wife braving bullets in a brutal fight, was beaten to death by an angry mob of neighbours. The dead dacoit was later identified as Kehar Pal, a notorious criminal wanted in more than 21 cases in the region.
According to the police, the dacoits struck late on Saturday night at the house of retired armyman Ram Autar, 50, currently employed as security guard at the State Bank of India branch at Pilibhit. At the time of the incident, Autar and his wife Natho Devi were both asleep but awoke on hearing a noise near their cattle shed, only to see the gang burst into the house.
When a gang member pointed a gun at them, the couple, unfazed, pounced on the assailant, who shot at the ex-soldier and barely missed, the bullet passing Autar's ear. Meanwhile, as Natho Devi continued to grapple with the dacoit, the latter hit her husband over the head with the butt of his pistol and also beat the woman. Natho Devi then hit the dacoit in the groin and brought him down, after which the couple raised the alarm.
Significantly, while the couple was wrestling with the dacoit, the latter's three associates continued to fire at the couple, but fled the spot after their associate was brought down. Hearing the alarm raised by the couple, neighbours rushed to the house and beat the dacoit unconscious. Nawabgunj police eventually arrived at the spot and took the badly injured dacoit to the hospital, where the doctors declared him dead.
The dacoit was identified as Kehar Pal, 40, a notorious criminal wanted in more than two dozen cases, and leader of a dreaded gang. A resident of Dharampur village under Hafizganj police station, he was out on bail recently, said police officials.
"The courage of the couple is praiseworthy as they dared to take on a person whose name spelt terror in the area. Perhaps Ram Autar's training in the Army, from where he retired as a havildar after taking part in the Kargil war, came in handy at this crucial moment. We have registered a case under Section 3/25 against the dead dacoit and his associates, said Nawabgunj circle officer Naresh Kumar, talking to TOI.
Recent Messages ()
SIGN IN WITH
FacebookGoogleEmail