4 Bihar gangsters killed in Delhi encounter; know more about ‘Sigma and Company’
Led by 25-year-old Ranjan Pathak, the gang was involved in multiple cases of extortion, robberies, and murders, and was planning to disrupt Bihar polls
In a late-night encounter, a joint team of Delhi and Bihar Police shot down four notorious gangsters from Bihar in the national capital’s Rohini area on Thursday (October 23).
According to police, the encounter, carried out at around 2.20 am on Bahadur Shah Marg in Rohini, was one of the biggest in Delhi in recent years.
Sigma and Company gang
The slain gangsters were identified as Ranjan Pathak (25), Bimlesh Mahto alias Bimlesh Sahni (25), Manish Pathak (33), and Aman Thakur (21).
They were reportedly part of the Ranjan Pathak gang, alternatively known in Bihar as the notorious ‘Sigma and Company’ gang.
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All four were residents of Bihar’s Sitamarhi district and were wanted in multiple cases, including armed robberies, extortions, and murder. They reportedly had cases against them in Bihar’s Dumra, Chaurat, Gahra, and Purnahiya.
According to ANI, the gang allegedly orchestrated the murder of Brahmashri Sena district head Ganesh Sharma, Madan Sharma and Aditya Singh in Bihar.
Who was the kingpin?
Ranjan, the gang’s leader, had a reward of Rs 25,000 for information leading to his arrest and was notorious for challenging the Delhi Police in social media posts.
According to reports, he operated an organised criminal network in parts of Bihar and its neighbouring states and was wanted in eight criminal cases.
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Role in Bihar polls
The accused were reportedly planning to carry out criminal activities in Bihar ahead of the Assembly elections scheduled next month.
A police source told PTI that they had committed a murder in Bihar after the model code of conduct came into place for the elections on October 6.
“The gang was committing crimes almost every month. They were contract killers...They had named their gang 'Sigma and Company,' and that itself indicates their intentions. Elections are about to be held in Bihar. We made a significant effort to gather information on this gang," Hindustan Times quoted Bihar Director General of Police (DGP) Vinay Kumar as saying.
How the encounter happened
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 told PTI.
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.
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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 the 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.