STF guns down dreaded dacoit

By Our Special Correspondent

Lucknow

Aug. 4: UP’s Special Task Force shot dead dreaded dacoit Thokia, alias Ambika Prasad Patel, in an encounter in the jungles of Chitrakoot on the UP-MP border on Monday.

Thokia was shot dead after a prolonged exchange of fire between the STF team, led by STF SSP Amitabh Yash, and members of the dacoit gang near Cilkhan village in the Bharatkup area of the Chitrakoot district. Thokia and his accomplices were shot dead around 3 am on Monday after a four-hour long encounter.

The police have recovered a huge cache of arms, including AK-47 rifles, and ammunition from the possession of the dacoits.

Thokia carried a cash reward of Rs 5 lakhs on his head and was wanted in more than 100 criminal cases in UP and Madhya Pradesh. Thokia had been on the hit list of the STF since July 2007 when he killed six STF personnel in an attack in Banda district. The STF team was returning after an encounter in which dreaded dacoit Dadua was killed when Thokia had attacked them. Thokia had taken over Dadua’s operations in the ravines and had emerged as the most wanted criminal in the Bundelkhand region during the past one year. Thokia’s name spelt terror over many districts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. A Kurmi by caste, Thokia also nursed political ambitions and there were speculations that he would contest the Lok Sabha elections as an Independent candidate.

In January this year, the UP government had increased the reward on Thokia from Rs 3 lakhs to Rs 5 lakhs. Thokia hailed from Lukhriapurwa village under the Karvi police station of Chitrakoot district.