Notorious goon shot dead in encounter

After months of trying to apprehend AK Singh, the search ended in a shootout

After months of trying to apprehend AK Singh, the search ended in a shootout

In a dramatic turn of events, the city police shot and killed Ajit Kumar Singh, a notorious criminal, yesterday afternoon.

Singh was known in the dubious circles for his illegal dealings and schemes. MiD DAY had broken the story two months earlier (Stolen in Bangalore, sold in Baliya, June 22).

Just two nights ago at 10.45 pm in Ashwath Nagar, close to Chief Minister Yeddyurappa's home, Sidlinga Reddy, a police constable dressed in civilian clothes, approached Singh who was at St John's medical store buying honey. It wasn't until he cuffed Singh did he realise he was being arrested.


Commissioner of Police Shankar Bidari inspecting Ajit Kumar Singh's body that was kept at Dr Ambedkar hospital. Singh was known to carry illegal weapons on his person. He also stole luxury cars from various cities and sold them off in Uttar Pradesh.

A fight ensued and Singh pulled out his concealed weapon and shot two rounds in the air. The third bullet scraped a bystander Subba Reddy in the knee. He was rushed to RMV Hospital for treatment. Singh made away in an SUV.

Second time lucky

Chandra Shekar, DCP (EAST), said, "We were expecting him to be armed, given the incident that happened Wednesday night. I had instructed officers to be careful if they came across him." He added, "We received the information from a reliable source and that's how we knew where to find him."

Singh was tracked downu00a0 near the new Airport Road at 2.45 pm. When approached, Singh took out his country-made weapon and tried to shoot at Inspector B Girish from Pulikeshinagar police station. Girish fired twice with his service revolver, hitting Singh in his upper torso, killing him on the spot.

Assistant Commissioner of Police B B Ashok Kumar (east) said, "Singh became a notorious bandit about five years ago, and we had been looking for him. He had a number of cases registered against him, such as stealing luxury cars and selling fake credit cards."

Kumar added, "Singh opened fire in a public area, but before we could arrest him he got away in his SUV. His vehicle was found abandoned yesterday morning in Mathikere."