Varanasi, Feb. 4 -- Banarasi Yadav, a notorious sharpshooter accused of executing contract killings, including the murder of a real estate businessman, was killed in an encounter with the Special Task Force in Varanasi in the wee hours on Wednesday.
According to police, the STF received specific inputs about Banarasi Yadav's movement and laid a cordon on Choubepur Road. When the police team tried to surround him, an inspector warned Yadav to surrender. Instead, he opened fire at the STF team.
Two policemen narrowly escaped after bullets fired by the criminal missed them. The STF then retaliated. As police personnel moved forward, a face-to-face exchange of five rounds of firing took place. During the encounter, Banarasi Yadav was hit by two bullets and collapsed on the spot.
He was rushed to a hospital in an injured condition, where doctors declared him dead.
Police said two pistols and cartridges were recovered from his possession. Banarasi Yadav was a resident of Karanda in Ghazipur district and had a long criminal history. As many as 21 criminal cases, including 10 murder cases, were registered against him in Varanasi, Ghazipur and other districts.
Five months ago, a property dealer from Ghazipur, Yogendra, had allegedly orchestrated the murder of coloniser Mahendra Gautam over a land deal worth Rs 50 crore. Police said Yogendra had given a contract of Rs 5 lakh to Banarasi Yadav for the killing. Banarasi then hired three shooters, including Fauji Arvind Yadav and Vishal, to carry out the crime.
On August 21, 2025, the shooters allegedly gunned down the coloniser in broad daylight while he was on his way to office. Following the murder, police announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh on Banarasi Yadav.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.