Fifty-year-old Anuj Kannaujia, a notorious sharpshooter of the Mukhtar Ansari gang, was killed in a police encounter late Saturday during a joint operation by the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (UP STF) and Jharkhand Police in Jamshedpur, officials said.
During the exchange of fire, STF Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) DK Shahi sustained injuries.
“Based on specific intelligence, the STF and Jharkhand Police attempted to apprehend Anuj Kannaujia, but he opened fire on security forces. In the ensuing crossfire, he was killed,” said Amitabh Yash, Additional Director General (ADG) of Uttar Pradesh STF.
Kannaujia, who had been evading arrest for over five years, was wanted in 23 criminal cases, including murder, extortion, land grabbing, and arms smuggling. His bounty had recently been increased from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2.5 lakh by Uttar Pradesh DGP Prashant Kumar in an effort to expedite his capture.
The operation was launched after intelligence inputs confirmed Kannaujia’s presence in Jamshedpur. As the police moved to arrest him, he fired nearly 20 rounds and even hurled a bomb in an attempt to escape. Security forces retaliated, leading to a high-intensity gunfight. Despite sustaining a gunshot wound to his shoulder, DySP Shahi continued leading the operation.
Kannaujia was eventually neutralised after sustaining multiple bullet injuries. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival, ADG Yash stated.
Following the encounter, police recovered two pistols, a large cache of live cartridges, and multiple mobile phones. The recovered phones are now being examined for potential leads into his criminal network, according to a source involved in the investigation.
Kannaujia, a resident of Bahlolpur village in Chiraiyakot, Mau, had a long history of violent crimes and was considered one of the most feared members of the Mukhtar Ansari gang.
His criminal activities spanned multiple districts, with six cases registered against him in Mau’s Kotwali police station, five in Rani Ki Sarai, two in Dakshin Tola, and three in Chiraiyakot, along with several others in Ghazipur and Azamgarh.
In recent years, authorities intensified their crackdown on Kannaujia and his associates.
As part of the statewide anti-mafia drive, police demolished his house in Azamgarh using a bulldozer, while his family members were booked under the Gangster Act and sent to jail, an official said.
