By Our Staff Reporter
Rudrapur, 1 Jan: In a significant development, the Uttarakhand Police have arrested Rifaqat, a notorious drug smuggler from Bareilly, who carries a reward of Rs 25,000 on his head, following an encounter in Udham Singh Nagar district today. Prior to his arrest, Rifaqat was injured in the encounter with the Uttarakhand Police who shot the accused in the leg. Heroin worth an estimated market value of around Rs 3 crores has been recovered from him.
Udham Singh Nagar SSP Manikant Mishra shared the operation details, noting that Pulbhatta police station and the Special Operation Group (SOG) led the successful operation. Today’s encounter follows the arrest of heroin smugglers Shanu, Khurshid and Asma on 19 October 2024 with 1.58 kg of heroin in the Pulbhatta police station area. During their interrogation, they had revealed that their gang leader, Rifaqat, was a resident of Mohalla Sarai Nai Basti, Fatehganj, in Uttar Pradesh.
Consequently, a team was set up to grab Rifaqat. Late last night, the team received information that the accused would enter the district via Naudandi Anjania through Baheri, intending to supply heroin from UP to Nainital district. The police laid a trap to apprehend him. During a joint operation by Pulbhatta police station and the SOG, the accused tried to flee on a bike upon seeing the police. He abandoned the bike near the Anjania culvert and ran towards the fields, firing at the police, who returned the fire, hitting him in the leg.
The injured suspect was taken into custody and taken to Kichha Community Health Centre for treatment. During questioning, Rifaqat admitted to his long involvement in the drugs trade, supplying heroin to various districts in Uttarakhand, and amassing property worth crores of rupees through illegal activities. He also admitted to having multiple hideouts to evade law enforcement.
It has been revealed that there are 16 criminal cases against Rifaqat, including charges of murder, kidnapping, rioting, assault, abuse, threats, drug smuggling, gambling, and gangster activities in, both, Uttarakhand and UP. He also confessed that he was planning to supply one kg of heroin to Nainital district for New Year celebrations.
SSP Manikant Mishra confirmed the arrest of Rifaqat and the seizure of one kg of heroin during the encounter. He also confirmed that there are 16 serious criminal cases registered against him in Uttarakhand and UP.
