In a major success against the notorious "Pahadi cheetah" gang, an organised crime syndicate from Jharkhand, security forces gunned down their leader in Odisha's Sundargarh district early today.
Leader of the gang Deepak Sahu was killed in an encounter with a joint team of state police, CRPF and district voluntary force (DVF) in the wee hours in Bamdera jungle on Odisha-Jharkhand border under Badagaon area, Inspector in-Charge (IIC) of Badagaon police station, Lalita Modi said.
Acting on a specific information, police encountered Pahadi Cheetah gang members and asked them to surrender but they tried to escape into Jharkhand without heeding the call, she said adding the gang members opened fire when challenged.
As the security forces retaliated, a brief exchange of fire ensued in which Deepak was killed, informed Banita Majhi, IIC of Kutra, who was also part of the operation.
The security forces recovered a rifle, a magazine, one US made 9 MM pistol with 5 rounds along with two mobile phones, police said.
The slain gang leader faced 60 cases including about 40 involving serious crimes like murder, armed robbery and extortion, they said.
