Muzaffarnagar: Criminal wanted for murdering Suresh Raina's kin killed in police encounter

Suresh Raina's kin was murdered three years ago, while the cops had failed to capture the culprit. On Saturday, the fugitive was killed in an encounter in Muzaffarnagar, as justice was served to the former Indian cricketer.

Former Indian explosive batter Suresh Raina had to go through an emotional disturbance after his kin was murdered in Punjab in 2020. It was reported that the culprit hailed from Rajasthan. Meanwhile, three years later, on Saturday, the fugitive was taken down and killed in an encounter by the Uttar Pradesh police in the Shahpur village of Muzaffarnagar.

The murderer has been identified as Rashid alias Sipahiya and had a bounty of ₹50,000 on his head. At the same time, DSP Vinay Kumar Gautam of Badhuna stated that he had nearly a dozen crome records against his name. "Rashid was hiding in Moradabad and had come to Muzaffarnagar to execute his next crime," Gautam was quoted as saying by The Times of India.

At the same time, Muzaffarnagar SSP Sanjeev Suman told the publication, "Following a local tip-off, Rashid, who was on a bike with his associate, was intercepted by us. When he was being stopped, he and his associate opened fire, in which the SHO of Shahpur, Bablu Kumar, sustained a bullet injury. In retaliatory firing, Rashid, who was also wanted in Muzaffarnagar in an 'attempt to murder' case, was injured and later died at a local hospital. His associate managed to flee. We're now scanning records to collect more information about his footprint."

In August 2020, Raina's uncle Ashok Kumar, son and wife, was murdered by his gang members, while a couple of more family members were attacked by the so-called 'Chhah Maar gang' of UP in Punjab's Pathankot district. They had barged into Ashok's home and laid a beatdown on his family before fleeing with cash and valuables.

After FIRs were registered under multiple Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections, Raina, who was playing for former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) pulled out of the competition, besides requesting Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh to arrest the wrongdoer.

The cops arrested the gang's mastermind Chajju from Bareilly in July 2021, and a couple more were detained following a gunfight in Muzaffarnagar last September. "More than 12 accused related to this particular case have been arrested so far," a senior police officer concluded.