New Delhi: Four wanted criminals allegedly involved in multiple cases of murder in Bihar were killed in a shootout with a joint team of Delhi Police and Bihar Police in Rohini in the early hours of Thursday, police said. The accused, identified as Ranjan Pathak (25), Bimlesh Mahto alias Bimlesh Sahni (25), Manish Pathak (33) and Aman Thakur (21), all residents of Bihar's Sitamarhi district, were part of the 'Sigma Gang', they said. The encounter, which took place around 2.20 am on Bahadur Shah Marg in Rohini, was one of the biggest carried out in Delhi in recent years, police said. The accused, who were wanted for heinous crimes, including multiple murders and extortion, were reportedly planning to carry out criminal activities in Bihar ahead of the Assembly elections scheduled next month.
A police source said they had committed a murder in Bihar after the model code of conduct came into place for the elections on October 6. Ranjan Pathak, the kingpin of the gang carrying a bounty of Rs 25,000 for information leading to his arrest, was reportedly wanted in eight criminal cases. The encounter took place when the joint team launched an operation to trace the accused, who were reportedly hiding in Delhi for the past several days, a senior police officer said. During the operation, the accused allegedly opened fire at the police team, prompting retaliatory action that left all four injured, the officer said. They were rushed to a hospital in Rohini, where doctors declared them dead, he added. Delhi Police tracked the accused's movements after receiving inputs from Bihar Police, officials said. Acting on specific intelligence that the gang was planning a major criminal operation ahead of Bihar polls, a joint team of Delhi Police Crime Branch and Bihar Police mounted surveillance and laid a trap in the area, the officer said. The 243-member Bihar Assembly will got to polls in two phases, on November 6 and November 11, and the counting will take place on November 14.