Prakash Shukla

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Prakash Shukla
Born
Shiv Prakash Shukla

(1973-10-06)October 6, 1973
Mamkhor, Gorakhpur
Uttar Pradesh
DiedSeptember 22, 1998(1998-09-22) (aged 24)
Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh
Cause of death Encounter killing
Other names
  • Prakash Shukla (In Police Records)
  • Ashok Singh (In Police Records)
Occupation Gangster
Years active5
ParentLate Ram Samujh Shukla (father)
Wanted by
 Special Task Force (India)
Details
Span of crimes
1993–1998
Weapons

Shri Prakash Shukla (6 October, 1973 - 22 September, 1998) [1] was an Indian gangster and hitman active during the 1990s mainly in the state of Uttar Pradesh. He used to be hired mainly by mobsters, politicians and strongmen, to kill their opponents. [1] He was killed on 22 September 1998, in an encounter with the UP police's Special Task Force, which was formed primarily to eliminate him. [2] He was about 25 at the time of his death.

Contents

Life

Shukla was born in Mamkhor village, Gorakhpur, India on Dussehra (October 6, 1973) in a Hindu Brahmin family. [3] His father, Ram Samujh Shukla was a retired Indian Air Force officer, later a government contractor. Shukla was the youngest amongst 5 siblings. He is reported to have been a notable wrestler in his village, following the footsteps of his father & grandfather who were both known to have been of prominent physical stature.

In 1993, 19 y/o Shukla shot a man dead due to a local gang rivalry, [4] which marked his first reported criminal offense. Following the murder, Shukla escaped to Bangkok with the help of his close aide gangster Hari Shankar Tiwari, who is widely recognised as Northern India’s first prominent mafia-politician or “Bahubali” and is credited with introducing the systematic blend of organised crime and politics in Uttar Pradesh.

Shukla returned and became associated with Ex MP Surajbhan Singh of Mokama, Bihar. [5] [1] Shukla has two names in Indian police records - Shri Prakash Shukla, and Ashok Singh.

In March 1997, Shukla shot and killed Virendra Shahi, a prominent mafia don & former MLA regarded as one of the most powerful figures in Purvanchal’s crime–politics nexus at the time, in Indira Nagar of Lucknow. Shukla used an AK-47 assault rifle, firing over 120 rounds at Shahi. This use of automatic military-grade weapons in gang rivalry was largely unheard of in UP, and much of India at the time. It was presumed that Hari Shankar Tiwari being an opponent of Virendra Shahi, would be targeted next for the Chillupar assembly seat. [1] [5] [6] [7]

On 26 May 1998, Shukla's gang kidnapped Kunal Rastogi, son of a businessman, from Botanical Gardens in Lucknow. His father was shot dead as he tried to save him. The gang allegedly took ₹5 Crore from a relative in Kanpur to free the son. [1] [8] [9]

In 1998, Shukla was tasked with eliminating Brij Behari Prasad, a rival minister in Lalu Yadav’s government. Shukla admitted himself as a patient to Patna’s Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS), blending in with hospital staff and patients. On July 10, 1998, he murdered Prasad, demonstrating audacity few could match. During his stay, Shukla noticed a female assistant, who happened to be local MP Pappu Yadav’s sister. He gathered personal information and began threatening her politically connected family despite warnings from his associate. Shukla arrogantly continued and called Pappu Yadav’s residence to intimidate him. [10]

Soon after, ADG Ajay Raj Sharma was summoned urgently by the then Chief Minister Kalyan Singh, who revealed that a supari (contract) worth crores had been taken to kill him. Sakshi Maharaj, a Member of the Parliament from Farrukhabad claimed that Shukla had taken a contract worth ₹8 Crore (~$887k) to assassinate CM Singh. [11]

Shri Prakash Shukla was considered as one of the country’s most wanted criminals by the late 1990s, being declared a threat to national security after reports of the contract to assassinate the then Chief Minister emerged. Shukla’s ability to bypass security and strike at high-profile targets demanded immediate action, to which ADG Sharma proposed forming a special unit which CM Singh approved instantly. This gave birth to the STF in 1998. The STF was primarily formed by the Uttar Pradesh police to capture or kill Shukla, along with 43 other top criminals of the state. ADG Sharma handpicked the best officers, including CO Rajesh Pandey and SSP Arun Kumar tasked with tracking and eliminating Shukla. [12]

Death

On 8 and 15 September 1998, episodes about Shri Prakash Shukla were broadcast on the crime show India's Most Wanted. The host of the show, Suhaib Ilyasi, claimed to have received threat calls from Shukla after that. He has also said that he got an anonymous phone call on 10 September 1998 saying Shukla and his associates had been seen in a blue Daewoo Cielo near AIIMS Delhi. On 21 September, another anonymous caller said that Shukla and his associates had been seen in Ghaziabad in a blue Daewoo Cielo. The tips were forwarded to the Delhi and Uttar Pradesh police. [2]


On 22 September 1998, Shukla was shot dead by the Uttar Pradesh police's Special Task Force (STF), outside an apartment complex in Ghaziabad. Shukla was hiding in the Vasant Kunj area of Delhi. He had come to Ghaziabad to visit his girlfriend. He was on his way to the Palam airport presumably to escape to Ranchi, where his arms-dealer Suraj Bhan lived. [1] [2] [5] By this time, the task force, which was formed in April, had spent ₹1 million in the investigation and had flown between Patna, Lucknow and Delhi trying to track him down. [1] He was tracked down primarily by his mobile phone. He used to change SIM cards but he had used one number more than other for a week. [5] The mobile phone and diary recovered after the shootout provided evidence of his connections to politicians. [13]

After death

After his death, the STF found that Shukla was connected to various politicians. His godfather and protector was Amarmani Tripathi, members of the Mayawati government and various politicians had provided him shelter. Some had taken money from Shukla in exchange for these favours. [1] On 5 November 1998, Pritam Singh, a member of the STF, was shot dead by members of Shukla's gang. [14] [15]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Criminal's Bedfellows". India Today . 26 October 1998. Archived from the original on 29 May 2015. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 "Gangster killed following tip-off". Rediff . 25 September 1998. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  3. ↑ "Shri Prakash Shukla: वो ब्राह्मण गैंगस्टर जिसने मुख्यमंत्री को ठोकने की सुपारी ले ली। Biography". YouTube. NMF News. 18 June 2021.
  4. ↑ "Early Life of Don". News 18. 11 March 2024. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Death of gunslinger". India Today . 5 October 1998. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  6. ↑ "Rule of Flaw". India Today . 24 November 1997. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  7. ↑ "126 bullets were fired at Bahubali Shriprakash on Lucknow streets:Shukla's brutal killings & ministerial threats ended in 1998; pleaded for his life yet killed in encounter". www.bhaskarenglish.in.
  8. ↑ "Where fear is the key". India Today . 6 July 1998.
  9. ↑ "Elastic standards". Frontline . 17 July 1998. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  10. ↑ "126 bullets were fired at Bahubali Shriprakash on Lucknow streets:Shukla's brutal killings & ministerial threats ended in 1998; pleaded for his life yet killed in encounter". www.bhaskarenglish.in.
  11. ↑ "Kalyan Singh's would-be assassin bumped off". Rediff . 23 September 1998. Archived from the original on 23 May 2015. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  12. ↑ "126 bullets were fired at Bahubali Shriprakash on Lucknow streets:Shukla's brutal killings & ministerial threats ended in 1998; pleaded for his life yet killed in encounter". www.bhaskarenglish.in.
  13. 1 2 "STF saga on celluloid". The Times of India . 2 July 2005. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  14. ↑ "UP police inspector's murder solved". The Tribune (India) . 13 February 1999. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  15. ↑ "Not an ordinary crime". The Tribune (India) . 7 November 1998. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  16. ↑ "Special Task Force behind Sehar story". Mid Day . 17 June 2005. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  17. ↑ "Hero police - Increasingly the arm of the law is being shown in a new bright light". The Telegraph (India) . 29 July 2005. Archived from the original on 27 April 2006. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  18. ↑ "LSD to a UP Gangster". Hindustan Times . 9 September 2010. Retrieved 23 May 2015.[ permanent dead link ]
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