UP STF Turns 25: How It Started With Gangster Shukla Who ‘Enjoyed’ Killing, Gave Supari for CM | How It's Going

As one of the most decorated wings of the Uttar Pradesh (UP) Police – the Special Task Force (STF) — recently celebrated its 25 years, founding member and retired Indian Police Services (IPS) officer Rajesh Kumar Pandey revisited its initial days.

He recounted how the UP STF was formed to eliminate then dreaded gangster Shri Prakash Shukla.

“I am perhaps the happiest person to see the growth of one of the most decorated wings of the UP Police. There is a huge difference between today’s STF and that of the 1990s, when it was constituted. Indeed, it is like a flashback to me,” said Pandey, who retired as the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DSP), Bareilly range, and is a native of UP’s Prayagraj district.

THE BEGINNING

It all began in the 1990s, when Shukla’s terror peaked. “The force was first formed on May 4, 1998 just to eliminate Shukla, who, by then, had become an eyesore for the UP Police,” he said.

WHY ONLY SHUKLA?

“It’s the modus operandi that made Shukla different from other gangsters,” Pandey was quick to respond.

Shukla was unlike other gangsters, as he used to “enjoy killing”. “Although he was well aware that one bullet is enough to kill his enemy, he used to keep pumping more bullets for publicity and to create more terror.”

‘DILEEP HOTEL SHOOTING’

The incident at Dileep Hotel in Lucknow on August 1, 1997 was one of the deadliest, as Shukla barged into room no. 102 and opened fire at a railway contractor from Gorakhpur. “He used an AK-47. It was perhaps the first time when the use of AK-47 was reported. Prior to this, the UP Police had once recovered an AK-47 from Varanasi,” said Pandey.

SHAHI KILLING

The killing of mafia-turned-politician Viren Pratap Shahi, another gangster from Gorakhpur, was another incident that shook the UP government to the core.

“I still remember it was the day the results were being declared at a local school in Lucknow’s Indiranagar. Shukla peppered Shahi with bullets from his AK-47 in full public view. It was not a regular murder. It was executed in the presence of some 300 parents and children. Shukla shot at Shahi and after he fell to the ground, he fired bullets in his eyes, face, then confused over the position of the heart, he first fired to the left of the chest and then to the right to make sure he died. This was not all. He then turned the body and emptied the entire magazine,” said Pandey.

SUPARI TO ASSASSINATE THEN UP CM

The killing of Lucknow-based lottery dealer Vivek Srivastava was another gruesome murder in the list of killings carried out by Shukla. “An alleged supari (contract) worth Rs 6 crore to assassinate the then UP Chief Minister Kalyan Singh turned out to be the last nail in Shukla’s coffin. It was then that the STF was formed,” said Pandey.

Pandey said the fact is also mentioned 1966 batch IPS officer Ajay Raj Sharma’s book ‘Biting the Bullet’.

“It was then that the CM called Sharma, who was posted in Sitapur. He posted him as the ADG law and order and told him to form a unit to eliminate Shukla. Initially, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Arun Kumar, Additional SP Satyendra Veer Singh and I, who was posted as the Circle Officer Hazratganj, Lucknow, was roped in. With drivers and other staff, there were a total of 17 people in the unit,” said Pandey.

The STF was formed on a temporary basis for six months.

‘COMPUTER: THE ALIEN THING’

“There was a dire need for resources. Arun Kumar somehow managed to get a computer. But we were not computer literate. A trainer was hired from a local computer institute to teach us how to use it. It was an alien thing for all of us. The computer teacher used to teach us in the evening,” he recalled.

FIRST PHONE TAPPING IN INDIA

That was not enough to crack the nexus. “We also needed other resources to tap Shukla’s phone calls. We then roped in an IITian from Kanpur who had developed a device that was capable of taping and transferring phone calls. It was the first time in the history of the country that any phone was tapped.”

ACTOR SUNIL SHETTY’S POSTCARD TO THE RESCUE

Another problem was Shukla’s photograph was not available anywhere. “Shukla was so sharp that he used to make sure his pictures were not leaked. He had killed a photo studio owner for circulating his photo. Since then, none of his photos were available. We managed to get his picture from one of his relatives. The photo was of a birthday party Shukla had attended. But his relative said that Shukla will kill them if he learned that he had leaked the photo. We had to save our source, so we decided to morph the picture to hide the background. At a book stall in Lucknow’s Hazratganj, I found some postcards of Bollywood actors and actresses. I decided to put Shukla’s face on the image of Bollywood actor Sunil Shetty. We got it done and got the morphed picture of Shukla made from a photocopy shop in Hazratganj published in the newspapers,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Police got another technology to tap phones and Shukla was tracked down with the help of electronic surveillance. The Arun Kumar-led team left for Delhi where Shukla was hiding. The gangster was gunned down in a fierce encounter on September 23, 1998.

After the encounter, the talks of disbanding the STF reached its peak, but the UP government decided to give it an extension of six months and later made it a permanent wing of the UP Police to crack down on organised crime and mafia.

YOGI GOVT TO STRENGTHEN STF, FOUR MORE UNITS TO COME UP

The UP STF recently was in the limelight after CM Yogi Adityanath-led UP government launched a campaign against the mafia and dreaded gangsters. It also played a crucial role in demolishing the empire of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari and Atiq Ahmed.

Taking note of its success, the UP government recently decided to strengthen the STF by establishing its units in four more districts and filling up vacant posts, said a state government spokesperson.

In a review meeting, Adityanath gave approval to the budget for the acquisition of land and construction of buildings for the units in Agra (Rs 2.84 crore), Gorakhpur (Rs 2.53 crore), Prayagraj (Rs 2.58 crore) and Bareilly (Rs 2.28 crore). A transit hostel will also be constructed for the STF’s Noida unit at a cost of Rs 9.62 crore, while the construction of buildings has started, he said.

The government has approved an amount of Rs 20 crore and ordered the release of the funds.