PATNA, Oct. 24 -- Four dreaded members of the Sigma & Company gang, including three from Bihar's Sitamarhi district, were killed in the early hours of Thursday in an encounter with a joint team of the Delhi Police Crime Branch and Bihar Special Task Force (STF) in Delhi, officials said. According to officials, the encounter broke out at Bahadur Shah Marg in the Rohini area of the national capital. The deceased gangsters have been identified as Ranjan Pathak (25), Bimlesh Mahto alias Bimlesh Sahni (25), and Manish Pathak (33) - all residents of Sitamarhi in Bihar - and Aman Thakur (21) of Karawal Nagar, Delhi. All the injured gangsters were rushed to Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital in Rohini, where doctors declared them dead on arrival. Bihar Police had earlier announced a cash reward of Rs.50,000 each for the arrest of Ranjan Pathak, Rahul Jha, and Kapoor Jha, and Rs.25,000 each for Vimlesh Mahto, Aman Thakur, and other gang members. The gang was involved in the murder of Aditya Kumar, who was gunned down by Ranjan Pathak and his associates on July 18 in the Bajpatti police station area. On August 21, the Dumra police registered another case after Madan Kumar Kushwaha was shot five times in an alleged contract killing. The Sigma & Company gang was also responsible for the killing of former Brahmrishi Sena president Ganesh Sharma outside his home in Lagama on September 26. On September 29, CSP operator Shravan Yadav was similarly shot six times inside his shop in Choraut as part of a Rs.1.17-lakh contract killing. The gang had also demanded Rs.45 lakh in extortion and threatened the complainant with dire consequences on October 13 in the Garha police station area. Earlier, the Sigma & Company gang had circulated pamphlets and reached out to journalists, claiming their violent acts were a form of protest against bureaucratic corruption, police misconduct, and the exploitation of the poor. They maintained that their actions were "not against any caste or religion." ADG (Operations) Kundan Krishnan, told HT that based on intelligence inputs that the gang was planning a major criminal activity ahead of the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, a joint team of the Delhi Police Crime Branch and Bihar Police laid a trap in the area. "The gang had been responsible for five contract killings and two cases of extortion in Sitamarhi over the past three months. After committing crimes, they would issue self-written notes to the media to instil fear among the public. Their aim was to create an atmosphere of violence and fear in the district. Evidence, including an audio clip, has been seized in which Ranjan Pathak is heard talking about spreading unrest before the elections," Krishnan said. He added that Ranjan Pathak of Radhour Malahi village was wanted in at least eight cases, including murder and extortion. Aman Thakur of Dostiya village faced four serious cases, while Vimlesh Mahto of Ratanpura village and Manish Pathak of Malahi village were also accused in multiple murder cases. Bihar DGP Vinay Kumar said that during investigations, Sitamarhi Police found the gang carried out these killings to spread fear and maintain dominance in Sitamarhi and adjoining districts. He added that Ranjan Pathak had been openly challenging the police through social media posts and audio messages. The clue that led to the operation was a major conspiracy hatched ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections. Police recently recovered an audio clip allegedly detailing the gang's plans related to the polls. The team had been tracking their movement for several days before launching the operation. Earlier, on October 7, three associates of the Ranjan Pathak gang - Loha Singh, Deepak Thakur, and Rahul Jha - were injured in an encounter with Sitamarhi Police in the Sandhwara locality under Bajpatti police station area.....