UP: Accused in minor boy’s rape, murder killed in encounter; SOG official injured

A wanted criminal accused of raping and murdering a minor boy was killed in a police encounter in Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh. The accused opened fire during arrest, prompting retaliation, while a police officer was injured in the operation

Hardoi: A 32-year-old criminal wanted in connection with the rape and murder of a minor boy was killed in an encounter with the police in the Mallawan area here on Wednesday morning.

The encounter also left a Special Operations Group (SOG) official injured, a senior officer said.

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The accused, identified as Mehnoor, was the prime accused in the brutal killing of a seven-year-old boy whose body was recovered from a maize field in Matiyamau village on Tuesday.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Ashok Kumar Meena said that acting on a tip-off, a joint team of the local police and the SOG cordoned off the area to nab the suspect.

“Upon being challenged, the accused opened fire on the police team. In the retaliatory firing, Mehnoor was critically wounded and later died during treatment at the district hospital,” the SP added.

In the crossfire, SOG in-charge Rajesh Kumar sustained a bullet injury and is currently being treated at the district hospital.

According to the police, preliminary findings suggest that the child was kidnapped and raped before being murdered.

In an attempt to derail the investigation, Mehnoor had allegedly used a stolen SIM card to make a ransom call to the minor’s family, hoping to mask the sexual assault and murder as a case of kidnapping for gain.

Following the discovery of the child’s body, the inspector general of police (Lucknow Range) had declared a reward of Rs 50,000 for the capture of the accused.

Mehnoor, a resident of Kannauj district, was a habitual offender with nearly a dozen criminal cases registered against him across various districts.

The police recovered a .32 bore pistol, a .315 bore country-made pistol, a motorcycle, and several cartridges from the encounter site.