Gangster Noni Rana’s hitman shot dead in Yamunanagar encounter
Rajat is the third shooter of the Kala Rana-Noni Rana nexus to be killed in an encounter in the past three months after Romil Vohra’s shooting in Delhi on June 24 and history-sheeter Bhim’s death in Yamunanagar on July 31.
Six days after three men opened fire outside at a liquor vend near the Ladwa bus stand in Kurukshetra district and a jewellery store in Yamunanagar, Haryana Police on Saturday killed one of the shooters in an encounter at Radaur on the Ambala-Shamli highway.
The accused, Rajat, alias Raju, belonged to Shergarh village of Indri in Karnal district and was a shooter of the gang led by Surya Pratap, alias Noni Rana.
Rajat was booked in seven cases, including the two firing incidents of September 14, and carried a reward of ₹50,000 on his head.
He is the third hitman of the Kala Rana-Noni Rana nexus to be killed in an encounter in the past three months.
The Haryana Police’s special task force (STF) and Delhi Police joint team killed Romil Vohra of Yamunanagar in Delhi on June 24, while history-sheeter Bhim, alias Arjun, who belonged to Ayodhya, was shot dead in a police encounter near Ratouli road in Yamunanagar on July 31.
Yamunanagar superintendent of police Kamaldeep Goyal said that 17 shots were fired from both sides in Saturday’s encounter on the under-construction Ambala-Shamli national highway under the limits of Radaur police station. The police had got a tip-off about Rajat’s presence in the area.
The SP said that crime investigation agency (CIA)-1 in-charge Rakesh Kumar also received a bullet injury.
“Both the gangster and the policemen were rushed to the emergency wing of the civil hospital, where Rajat died during treatment, while Rakesh Kumar was treated for the injury he sustained on his arm,” SP Goyal said.
On September 14, Rajat along with his two of his accomplices had opened fire outside a jewellery store in the Model Town area of Yamunanagar before shooting outside a liquor vend near Ladwa bus stand. The jewellery store is located a few metres from the SP’s residence. The incident triggered panic as the gangsters escaped despite police presence in the area.
Investigators said the firing was a part of an extortion conspiracy, but did not disclose the money sought by the gangster based abroad.
Earlier, Rajat’s accomplice, Aman Kumar was taken into police custody after he was injured in an encounter with Kurukshetra police on Friday night. However, the third accomplice is still absconding.
Gangster Veerendra Pratap, alias Kala Rana, was extradited from Bangkok in 2022, while his brother Surya Pratap, alias Noni Rana, is based in an unidentified foreign country.
In another incident, the STF arrested two shooters, who were responsible for last week’s firing at an IELTS centre in Kurukshetra, on National Highway-44 on Thursday night. The STF said that both were undergoing treatment at the government hospital in Kurukshetra and were in police custody after they received bullet injuries on their legs.
