Even as sleuths of Special Task Force and Sambhal police are still groping in the dark to know the whereabouts of criminals who killed two constables before escaping from a police van on Wednesday, unknown miscreants snatched the service pistol of a Government Railway Police personnel in Unnao on Thursday. 

As per reports, GRP constable Manoj Kumar was one of the escort team on board 12184 Pratapgarh-Bhopal express train. As the train neared Magarwara railway station in Unnao on the Lucknow-Kanpur section in the wee hours of Thursday, a miscreant snatched his pistol and jumped off the running train. 

A case was registered at Unnao railway station and the GRP constable was suspended.

Meanwhile, the state government announced a reward of Rs 2.5 lakh each on three criminals — Shakil, Kamal and Dharampal — who absconded after killing two constables in Sambhal on Wednesday. 

The government also sent IG (STF) Amitabh Yash to Sambhal to lead the operation to nab the assailants.

IG (Moradabad Range) Ramit Sharma told reporters that the three criminals were prepared for the escape as they were equipped with country-made pistols and chilly powders. 

“The criminals were sitting near the gate of the van. They first threw chilly powder on constable Harendra and Brajpal and later gunned them down,” he said. 

While the three criminals fled breaking the channel gate of the van, 21 other prisoners in the police vehicle did not come out of the bus. Before fleeing, the criminals also took away the rifles of the constables.

The IG said that the 24 prisoners were produced at Chandausi court and were been taken back to Moradabad jail when the incident occurred at Bajiyather around 4 pm on Wednesday. 

The prisoners were being escorted by a sub-inspector and two constables. 

“We are investigating how these criminals got hold of country-made pistols and chilly powder,” the IG said.

Meanwhile, senior police officers attended the funeral of the two martyred constables. 

A compensation of Rs 50 lakh each to the families of both constables along with a government job to the kin and extraordinary pension to the family was announced by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday.  

Meanwhile, in Ghaziabad, a gangster wanted in over two dozen cases of loot and murder was killed in an encounter with Ghaziabad police and Special Task Force in Sahibabad area early Thursday morning. 

Two STF personnel were also injured in the gun battle around 1 am and were rushed to a nearby hospital.

The slain criminal, Meherbaan, was carrying a reward of Rs 1 lakh on his arrest and was wanted in the sensational Rs 65-lakh loot from a company in Greater Noida’s Jarcha area on May 27.

“Meherbaan and his two aides were in a car and were intercepted by a joint team of police and STF for checking when they opened fire, injuring a head constable and a constable of the STF’s Noida unit. In the retaliatory firing, Meherbaan was also wounded. The injured were taken to a hospital where Meherbaan was pronounced dead by doctors.