In an encounter in the Hapur Kotwali region on Thursday, a member of the infamous Lawrence Bishnoi gang was shot dead by a combined Delhi Police and Uttar Pradesh Police Special Task Force (STF) unit.

According to a top police official, the dead has been identified as Naveen Kumar, who was sought in many instances, including murder and under the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA).

In a statement, ADGP (STF) Amitabh Yash claimed that Kumar was gravely injured during a firefight with criminals in the Hapur Kotwali area on Wednesday night by a combined squad of the Delhi Police’s Special Cell and the STF’s Noida section. According to the officer, after being brought to a nearby hospital, physicians pronounced Kumar deceased.

According to the ADGP, Kumar, a native of Loni in the Ghaziabad district, was a sniper for the Lawrence Bishnoi gang and had a strong relationship with Hashim Baba.

According to the officer, Kumar was the subject of up to 20 cases in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, including ones for murder, attempted murder, abduction, robbery, and violation of the MCOCA.

In 2008, Kumar was first charged under the Arms Act at the Seemapuri police station in Delhi. According to the officer, he was arrested in Uttar Pradesh in 2010 under the Gangster Act after allegedly committing a murder in the Sahibabad police station area in 2009.