2 killed in encounter weeks after robbery at bizman's house in UP

AGRA: Two Rajasthan-based members of Bawaria gang -- wanted in a case involving dacoity at a Uttar Pradesh businessman's house -- were killed in a police encounter in Mathura on Thursday. Both Dharamveer alias Lambu, 40, and Rajendra alias Pappu, 50, had several criminal cases against them and carried rewards of Rs 50,000 each, police said.Two police personnel -- special weapons and tactics (SWAT) in-charge Ajay Verma and constable Durvijay Singh, who is also a SWAT team member -- were injured during the encounter, and are currently recovering in hospital.Mathura SSP, Shlok Kumar, said, "A few days ago, some robbers entered a house at night. They held residents hostage and fled with cash and valuables in Mathura. An FIR was registered and teams were set up to crack the case."He added: "Last night, we received an input regarding movement of criminals involved in that incident. When our teams tried to catch them, they opened fire at the police teams. They were active members of the Bawaria gang."Lambu, a resident of Bharatpur, had 16 criminal cases registered against him, while Pappu, a resident of Alwar district had 11 cases, including that of murder registered in police stations in UP, Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan. "They had used fake names in the past, and were in prisons in other states," the SSP said.Some of the looted items related to the Mathura dacoity case have been recovered from their possession, along with cash and illegal firearms, police said, adding that all forensic evidence is being collected from the spot.On April 23, police said the duo, along with five accomplices, carried out a robbery at the house of trader Ajay Agarwal in Mathura's Surir area. They entered from the roof and held the family hostage at gunpoint for nearly three hours. Agarwal, his father, wife and six-year-old daughter were tied up with ropes as the gang took away cash and jewellery worth around Rs 12 lakh from the house.