3 held in UP encounter for looting, killing man from MP

Agra: Three men who had allegedly robbed and murdered a resident of Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh, after luring him into a secluded place using a gay-dating app were arrested following an encounter with the Mathura police on Saturday night. The accused belonged to an organised gang behind similar crimes across Haryana and Delhi-NCR, said police.Sunil Kumar Tripathi was found dead in Jait area of Mathura on July 16. An FIR was filed under section 103 (1) (murder) based on a complaint lodged by his father at Jait police station and an investigation was launched.Acting on a tip-off that the suspects were planning another robbery, a police team intercepted Siyaram Singh (23), Ravi Thakur (24) and Sachin Kumar (19) late Saturday night. The suspects opened fire on the police, prompting retaliatory shooting. Siyaram and Ravi sustained bullet injuries to their legs while Sachin was nabbed at the spot.During interrogation, the accused confessed to creating a fake Grindr profile to trap Tripathi. Police stated that Siyaram drove the victim to an isolated location, where the trio attempted to tie him up and demanded his phone password. When Tripathi resisted, Ravi allegedly struck him on the head with an iron rod, killing him instantly. The gang fled with his belongings, later withdrawing Rs 1.2 lakh from various ATMs and transferring Rs 84,000 via UPI.Investigators recovered country-made pistols, ammunition, looted cash, the victim’s ATM card and the motorcycle used in the crime.Jait police station SHO Sonu Singh told TOI that during examination of Ravi’s mobile phone, cops “found videos showing Ravi, Siyaram and Sachin assaulting and robbing a naked victim while threatening to kill him and circulating the video if he informed the police.The phone also contained nearly two dozen QR codes linked to different bank accounts, which the gang allegedly used to transfer stolen money through merchants and petrol pumps before sharing the proceeds among themselves.Mathura DSP Praveen Kumar Tiwari said the accused confessed to robbing Sunil Tripathi and later murdering him. “Necessary legal proceedings are being carried out. A separate FIR has been registered against them for firing at the police under section 109 (1) (attempt to murder) of BNS and sections of the Arms Act.”