A notorious dacoit Babli Kol who was synonym of terror in the bordering areas of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh for the past few years was gunned down by Madhya Pradesh police following an encounter in the forests of Satna district on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday.
After the encounter, bodies of Babli and his aide Lavlesh have been found this morning in the forests areas of Ledri in Satna district.
Babli carried a reward of Rs seven lakh on his head while Lavlesh Kol aka Loli also was killed in the encounter and was carrying Rs 1.80 lakh on his head.
After the termination of dacoits from Chambal region, Babli Kol led gang was the only recognised dacoit gang which was giving sleepless nights to the locals in Vindhya region and also adjoining areas of Uttar Pradesh.
Recently the gang had abducted a farmer and later released him allegedly in return for Rs six lakh.
However, this incident is being linked to the elimination of the dreaded dacoit as locals claimed that the head of the gang had a dispute with Lavlesh over distribution of ransom money which led to an internal fight and their killing. Lavlesh had recently joined the gang.
Babli Kol had remained elusive for the police in MP and UP as well for the past eight years when he emerged in the region in 2011.
While talking to media persons on Monday, IG Police Satna Chanchal Shekhar claimed that the dacoit had been utilising the difficult terrain of the region and was giving them a slip every time they went in the forests to nab him. The Ledri forest area where the bodies of the dacoits were said to be recovered after an encounter by the police is spread over 40 km with bordering hillocks, said the officer.