Gangster Hyder Killed in Police Encounter
Bureau,Odishabarta
Cuttack: Dreaded gangster Hyder, who was serving life sentence in a murder case, was killed in a police encounter on Saturday. The encounter took place while an escort party of the Cuttack Commissionerate Police, comprising one IIC, one sub-inspector, three havildars and a section of armed police, was shifting Hyder from Choudwar Circle Jail in Cuttack to the sub-jail at Baripada in Mayurbhanj district, said Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Police Commissioner Soumendra Priyadarshi. The gangster was being shifted for security reasons.
Midway near Simulia in Balasore district, Hyder requested the security personnel to stop for a while to attend nature’s call. After getting down from the police vehicle, he tried to snatch the gun from the sub-inspector and run away, Priyadarshi said.
“To control the situation and prevent him from running away, the escort team was forced to open fire on Hyder in a controlled way. He suffered bullet injuries. However, no police official was injured in the incident,” the Police Commissioner said.
Following the incident, Hyder was rushed to the district headquarters hospital (DHH) in Balasore in a critical condition. Later, doctors declared him dead.
Additional District Medical Officer (ADMO) of the DHH, Mrutyunjay Mishra, said the gangster died five minutes after being admitted to the hospital before the doctors could start his treatment.
The details of the number of bullets fired on him will be clear only after the post-mortem, Mishra said.
In April this year, Hyder had escaped from police custody while undergoing treatment at SCB Medical College in Cuttack. Following a massive manhunt, he was rearrested from Telangana.
Hyder was involved in gang wars in Kendrapara district and his name came to the fore after S K Chuna, brother of his arch rival Suleiman, was killed in Kendrapara in 2005. He was arrested the same year from Nagpur for the murder and was awarded life imprisonment in 2011.
In 2015, he was sentenced to life again for his involvement in kidnapping and murder of mines trader Rashmi Ranjan Mahapatra.
Meanwhile, Hyder’s wife Hasina Begum alleged that her husband was killed by the police. “The police had not given us any information regarding his transit. We were informed about his death. I demand justice,” she said, seeking a probe into the death of her husband.
Police made elaborate security arrangements in specific areas of Kendrapara town where Hyder had a “support base,” officials said. “Since he was leading a gang, the security arrangement was made to ensure that his gang members do not take to violence,” a senior official said.
Hyder, who let loose a reign of terror in Odisha for a decade from 1995 to 2005, had a rags to riches story. The gangster was a rickshaw-puller before he entered the world of crime. For Hyder, the shortcut to the path of wealth and a life of luxury was through underworld.
The gangster earned infamy in the 1990s and 2000s for a series of murders and abductions for ransoms. Hyder was convicted in two murder cases and sentenced to life in jail in both the cases. This did not deter him as he continued to operate his crime syndicate from inside the jail through his associates across the State.
Hyder started his anti-social activities as the henchman of deceased Rabin, who was a dreaded criminal. Hyder then gained notoriety after he shot dead criminal Bula Sethi inside the Kendrapara court premises in 1991. He was injured in an encounter with the police in 1997.
Till the early 1990s, Hyder and Suleiman Malik alias Suleman were part of the gang led by Tito. The two parted ways from Tito after a dispute over sharing of booty. Later, Hyder and Suleman joined a new group formed by a relative of slain Budha Mian in order to take revenge on Tito. This led to frequent gang wars between Tito and Hyder.
In 1999, Hyder attacked Tito by hurling a bomb, but Kalu, one of Tito’s associates, was killed in the attack. In 2002, Hyder and Suleman parted ways over differences over sharing of booty.
In 2005, Tito joined hands with Hyder and the duo switched over to tender papers business by terrorising the contractors. In May 2005, Hyder’s men shot dead Suleman’s brother Sheikh Chuna near Stewart School in Bhubaneswar. Hyder was arrested in the case. In March 2011, he was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Hyder also masterminded the abduction of Keonjhar mining businessman Rashmi Ranjan Mohapatra and his driver for a ransom of Rs 2 crore in Bhubaneswar in May 2007. Mohapatra and his driver were killed despite the gang receiving Rs 1.12 crore as ransom. Hyder and his two accomplices were sentenced to life imprisonment in this case in October 2015
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