Criminal wanted in murder of Suresh Raina's kin killed in encounter

AGRA: A wanted criminal from Rajasthan, accused in the murder of cricketer Suresh Raina's relatives in Punjab in 2020, was killed in an encounter with UP police in Shahpur village of

Muzaffarnagar

district on Saturday.
On the run for over two years, the accused, identified as Rashid alias Sipahiya, had a reward of Rs 50,000 on his head and nearly a dozen criminal cases registered against him, as per Vinay Kumar Gautam, DSP (Budhana). "Rashid was hiding in Moradabad and had come to Muzaffarnagar to execute his next crime," Gautam said.
Speaking about the matter, SSP, Muzaffarnagar, Sanjeev Suman, told TOI, "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 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."
The SSP further said: "We're now scanning records to collect more information about his footprint."

In August 2020, Raina's uncle Ashok Kumar, his son Kaushal Kumar, wife Asha Rani and two more members of the family were attacked by the 'Chhah Maar gang' (part of the notorious Bawariya gang) from UP at Tharial in Punjab's Pathankot district. Kumar died on the spot while his wife and son succumbed to injuries later at a hospital. The gang of robbers had allegedly barged into their house and beaten up the family with sticks before decamping with cash and other valuables.
Following the incident, an FIR was registered against unidentified men at Shahpur Kandi police station in Pathankot under IPC sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting with weapons), 149 (offence committed in prosecution of common object), 458 (housebreaking), 459 (grievous injury due to housebreaking) and 460 (causing death due to housebreaking). Two more sections 302 (murder) and 307 (murder attempt) were later added to the FIR.
Notably, Raina had pulled out from the IPL-2020 season after hearing the news of the attack on his relatives, and had requested the then-Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh to arrest the culprits soon.
In July 2021, police had arrested the gang's alleged mastermind, Chajju from Bareilly. Last September, two more men were nabbed following a gun battle in Muzaffarnagar. The cops later came to know that the men were wanted by Punjab police in connection with the cricketer's relatives' murder. A senior police officer, privy to the matter, said that "more than 12 accused related to this particular case have been arrested so far."