New Delhi, Oct 23 – Four wanted criminals involved in multiple murder cases in Bihar were killed in a shootout with a joint team of Delhi Police and Bihar Police in Rohini early Thursday morning, according to police reports.

The deceased criminals have been identified as Ranjan Pathak (25), Bimlesh Mahto alias Bimlesh Sahni (25), Manish Pathak (33), and Aman Thakur (21), all hailing from Sitamarhi district in Bihar. They were members of the notorious ‘Sigma Gang’.

The encounter occurred around 2:20 AM on Bahadur Shah Marg in Rohini and is considered one of the largest operations conducted in Delhi in recent years. The gang members were wanted for serious offenses, including multiple murders and extortion, and were reportedly planning further criminal activities in Bihar ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections scheduled for next month.

A police source revealed that the gang had committed a murder in Bihar after the model code of conduct for the elections was established on October 6. Ranjan Pathak, the gang’s leader, had a bounty of Rs 25,000 placed on him for information leading to his arrest and was wanted in eight criminal cases.

The encounter unfolded when the joint police team initiated an operation to locate the suspects, who had been hiding in Delhi for several days. During the operation, the accused allegedly opened fire on the police, prompting a retaliatory response that resulted in injuries to all four individuals. They were subsequently transported to a hospital in Rohini, where they were pronounced dead.

Delhi Police monitored the movements of the suspects after receiving intelligence from Bihar Police. Acting on specific information regarding the gang’s plans for a significant criminal operation ahead of the Bihar elections, a surveillance operation was conducted by the Delhi Police Crime Branch in collaboration with Bihar Police.

The Bihar Assembly, consisting of 243 members, will hold elections in two phases on November 6 and November 11, with the counting of votes scheduled for November 14.