UP police takes Air Force help to track down Kalua

Vijay Upadhyay
Bareilly/Etah. Perhaps for the first time in the history of anti-dacoit operations in the ravines of Uttar Pradesh, the State police on Sunday sought the help of the Indian Air Force in tracking the movements of notorious bandit Kalua.

In one of the most intensive operations against the bandit, the Uttar Pradesh police and the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) personnel, armed with surveillance reports from an Air Force chopper, scoured the ravines of Manpur in Fatehganj area of Bareilly for two days, using advanced weaponry, bullet-proof tractors and night-vision scopes in an attempt to trap Kalua. However, despite these efforts Kalua managed to slip away into Etah.

According to Chhavinath, Deputy Inspector General, Bareilly range, the police received information on Saturday that Kalua was camping in the ravines of Ramganga near Manpur in Fatehganj. While the police tried to surround him on its own, the attempt proved unsuccessful, as a result of which the police was forced to call in the help of the Indian Air Force and a chopper was requisitioned from the Bareilly base to mount surveillance on Kalua and his gang's movements.

On Sunday, PAC personnel maintained an attack profile against the gang, using grenades to smoke out Kalua's gang based on surveillance reports from an Air Force chopper. However, despite several hours of continuous combing by the PAC and police personnel from Bareilly, Shahjahanpur and Badayun, Kalua managed to slip away into Etah.

It is felt that after the partial success of using the help of the Air Force, the Bareilly police is planning a joint operation against Kalua in which the police could request the Air Force to provide air-borne strike support.

Talking to The Pioneer, Rajesh Kumar Rai, Senior Superintendent of Police, Etah said he had received information on the Kalua gang's movement in the forest of Bhakhrayi in Etah and he was planning a combing operation in the forest against the bandit soon.

Known as Uttar Pradesh's very own Veerappan, Kalua has a childhood grudge against the Khaki-clad officers and never misses an opportunity to gun down down policemen. Leading a motley crowd of gunslingers in the ravines of Agra, Bareilly and Kanpur regions, Kalua has killed almost two dozen policemen while injuring more than triple that number in the past few years and the numbers are climbing.

This 40-year-old "police-killer" carries a reward of Rs one lakh on his head. The UP police does not have a sketch to identify this wanted dacoit since anyone who has met Kalua has never returned live to report. A sharp-shooter, Kalua is known for being able to fire in the direction of sound. His name is enough to evoke nightmares for policemen engaged in anti-dacoity operations. Ever since he first killed two police constables in a train dacoity, Kalua has killed 18 policemen, including six sub-inspectors, taking their weapons and their wireless sets with him.

A police official who has been closely associated with a number of operations against Kalua says the bandit is a shrewd combat planner who has successfully out-flanked various police parties. Kalua is known for his military-style camping during operations and traces of such orderly camps have been discovered by police parties across the ravines.

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