LUCKNOW, May 7 -- A 27-year-old man accused of abducting, sexually assaulting and murdering a seven-year-old boy was killed in a police encounter in Hardoi district early on Wednesday, officials said. According to police records, the accused was a 'habitual offender' with at least 12 cases registered over the past five years across Kannauj and adjoining districts. His criminal history included charges under the POCSO Act, theft, robbery and the NDPS Act. Hardoi superintendent of police (SP) Ashok Kumar Meena said the accused, Mahnoor alias Shahnur alias Menuddin, was carrying a Rs.50,000 reward declared after the child's body was recovered on Tuesday. He said the encounter occurred around 3am near Babatmau, about 50 km from Hardoi city, during a checking drive. The SP stated a suspicious motorcyclist was signalled to stop but attempted to flee and opened indiscriminate fire. "In retaliatory firing, he sustained a bullet injury to the chest," the officer said. He was taken to the district hospital, where he was declared dead. Special Operations Group in-charge Rajesh Kumar was injured in the exchange of fire and is undergoing treatment. Another police official said that the victim, a resident of Mallawan police station area, went missing after attending a local fair on May 1. "His father lodged a complaint on May 2 after the child failed to return home. Soon after, the family received a ransom call demanding Rs.7 lakh. Investigators said the accused had sourced the father's mobile number from a signboard outside his shop and used it to initiate contact, even forcing a small online transfer to validate a UPI account," the official stated. Police traced the ransom call to Kanpur, where two suspects were detained. Based on their disclosure, the child's body was recovered from a maize field behind a madrasa. Preliminary investigation indicated that the boy was sexually assaulted and killed when the accused feared exposure after the ransom plan faltered. Police records show Mahnoor's first case dates back to 2020, when he was arrested under POCSO Act at the age of 21. Authorities had also invoked the Gangsters Act against him. Investigators said he routinely used multiple aliases to evade detection and, in the present case, allegedly used a stolen SIM card to mask his identity and present the crime as a kidnapping for ransom. Police officials described the murder of the child as a sharp escalation in his criminal trajectory, culminating in a violent end during the encounter....