Overview
- Police say teams and a SWAT unit surrounded an ashram in Kurtha on Wednesday after a tip and that the suspect, identified as Kamlesh Chaudhary, opened fire before officers returned fire and he later died at hospital.
- A SWAT in‑charge, Rohit Mishra, was wounded during the exchange and is receiving treatment, and police report they recovered a .32 bore pistol, a live cartridge and a motorcycle at the scene.
- The deceased was one of four men named in the May 29 killing of hotelier Vineet (Vinit) Rai and carried a ₹1 lakh reward while three other accused — Shankar Pandey, Sonu Yadav and Monu Tripathi — remain at large with bounties posted.
- As Chaudhary’s body was escorted for cremation, a crowd allegedly pelted stones at police, injuring officers and forcing reinforcements to be deployed; police have registered cases over the violence.
- Authorities frame the Ghazipur shooting as part of a 22‑day intensified drive against hard‑core criminals in the Varanasi range, and the incident has drawn political criticism and calls for formal investigation and legal follow‑up.