Lucknow, Jan 17 () The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) have arrested self-proclaimed chieftain of banned outfit ‘Azad Hind Fauj’, which was active in Bihar’s Sheohar, Sitamarhi, Motihari and Muzaffarpur districts.
The accused, Nitesh Kumar Singh (45) alias Maharaj who carried a cash reward of Rs 50,000 announced by Bihar Police, was arrested from Vibhuti Khand police station area in Lucknow’s Gomti Nagar.
A native of Sheohar district, Singh was named in a mass murder in Pakaridayal locality of Motihari district in 2016.
The STF said that according to Bihar Police records, as many as six bike-borne men had barged into a house and fired indiscriminately with sophisticated weapons, killing seven people in Sirha panchayat of Pakaridayal police station of Motihari district on August 26, 2016.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), STF, Vimal Kumar Singh, said that Nitish confessed that he formed Azad Hind Fauj in 2005 and killed Maoists leaders Kailash Ram, Ramchandra Sahni, Shivji Ram and Sunil Gupta, to avenge murders of his relatives.
Nitish also confessed that his recent kill was one Rajesh Rai, a locally influential person, in 2019.
The official said that the Sheohar SP had sought help from Uttar Pradesh STF for the arrest of the dreaded criminal and accordingly a team was formed.
The police said that Nitesh was involved in as many as 17 cases of heinous crime from different districts in Bihar. To evade arrest, Nitesh was cooling heels in Uttar Pradesh, said Singh.
The STF DSP said they worked on the case and came to know that Nitesh, who was a symbol of terror in some districts of Bihar, was standing near the Awadh bus station and was waiting for some of his aides. A team was sent to the spot and the accused were arrested.
amita/sha