LUCKNOW, Feb. 28 -- A wanted criminal carrying a Rs.50,000 reward was killed in an encounter with sleuths of the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) Noida unit and Agra police in the Ekta police station area of Agra on Friday evening, officials said. The deceased has been identified as Pawan alias Kallu, son of Sant Ram, a resident of Sirauli under Loni police station in Ghaziabad. He was wanted in an extortion case registered at Tajganj police station in Agra commissionerate, read a police press note. Police said Pawan was a shooter of the Randeep Bhati-Amit Kasana gang, identified by the state government as a notorious criminal syndicate. "More than 18 criminal cases were registered against him, including four cases of murder and two of extortion. In 2021, he had also carried a Rs.1 lakh reward in a murder case and was later arrested in Delhi and sent to jail," said STF. According to officials, he came in contact with the Himanshu Bhau gang of Haryana during his time in jail. After being released in 2025, he allegedly resumed large-scale extortion and was planning major crimes in Delhi and western Uttar Pradesh. During the encounter, police recovered a significant quantity of cartridges and firearms. The 9mm pistol seized from the spot had allegedly been looted in 2016 from constable Monu Dhiman of Bisrakh police station in Gautam Buddh Nagar....