LUCKNOW, April 3 -- The fatal encounter of Ashu alias Monty alias Moti, an alleged gangster linked to organised crime across western Uttar Pradesh, exposed a violent criminal network stretching back 16 years. Police records implicate him in at least 36 serious cases across five districts. The Rs.50,000 rewardee, allegedly an operative of the Udham Singh gang, was killed during a late-night encounter near Thakurdwara bypass in Moradabad's Civil Lines area. UP Special Task Force (STF) members from Meerut along with Moradabad police intercepted him following specific intelligence inputs on Wednesday night. According to the STF, Ashu, a native of Mirapur Kala village in Hapur's Hafizpur area, was the alleged prime accused in a recent Rs.5 crore extortion case involving Moradabad-based exporter Arshu Dhal, owner of Wazirchand Exports. The firm ships home decor products to over 125 countries. The businessman began receiving threat calls, WhatsApp messages from March 12 demanding Rs.5 crore with threats to kill him if the amount was not paid. The caller allegedly invoked gangster Udham Singh's name to instill fear. Bike-borne assailants allegedly opened fire outside the factory gate the next day, prompting FIRs at Civil Lines police station. Intelligence inputs suggested Ashu had arrived in Moradabad to allegedly collect the extortion money, waiting at a vacant plot near an under-construction marriage hall on the bypass. When the joint team surrounded the location, Ashu sustained serious bullet injuries in retaliatory firing. He was declared dead during hospital treatment. His accomplice escaped under the cover of darkness. Police recovered a substantial weapons cache from the spot: one .32 bore factory-made pistol with magazine, a revolver, a 12-bore gun, 162 live cartridges of different calibres, spent shells, a Swift car bearing Delhi registration, Rs.5 lakh in cash. Investigators said his criminal journey began in 2010 with an arrest in a murder case in Hapur district. During incarceration, he allegedly came into contact with Udham Singh gang members. After bail, he allegedly became an active gang shooter linked to multiple cases of murder, robbery, extortion, attempted murder, organised crime. Police records connect him to the 2014 killing of doctor Subhash Malik in Meerut, the murder of two men in Sardhana the same year, a 2020 encounter arrest in Hapur, the 2022 contract killing attempt on an agricultural university dean in Meerut for which he was allegedly hired for Rs.5 lakh....