Shri Prakash Shukla

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

Life

Shukla was born in Mamkhor village, Gorakhpur on Dussehra () as Shiv Prakash Shukla to Ram Samujh Shukla, a retired IAF Officer later Government Contractor. Shukla was the youngest among 5 siblings. He is reported to have been a notable wrestler in his village. In 1993, Shukla killed a man called Rakesh Tiwari, due to local gang rivalry in the cable tv business. This was Shukla's first reported criminal offense, and, thanks to it, he gained a criminal record for the first time. Following the murder, Shukla escaped to Bangkok. He returned and became associated with Ex MP Surajbhan Singh of Mokama, Bihar.
Shukla has two names in Indian police records.

*Shri Prakash Shukla
*Ashok Singh

In early 1997, Shukla killed Virendra Shahi, an underworld figure turned politician and a member of the state's assembly, in IndiraNagar area of Lucknow. It was presumed that Hari Shankar Tiwari, who was an opponent of Virendra Shahi, would be targeted next as Shukla wanted the Chillupar assembly seat. In April 1998, the Uttar Pradesh police formed a STF to capture or kill 43 top criminals of the state, Shukla (alive or dead) was on the top of the list.

On 26 May 1998, Shukla's gang kidnapped Kunal Rastogi, the son of a medical businessman, from Botanical Gardens in Lucknow. His father was shot dead as he tried to save him. The gang allegedly took 50 million from a relative in kanpur to free the boy. In June 1998, he also allegedly killed Brij Behari Prasad, a minister from Bihar, in a Patna hospital where he was undergoing treatment For Vijay Kumar Shukla . Soon after, Sakshi Maharaj, a Member of the Parliament from Farrukhabad, had claimed that Shukla had taken a contract of million to kill the then Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh. But, he did not reveal the source of this information.

Death

On 8 and 15 September 1998, episodes about Sriprakash Shukla were broadcast on the crime show India's Most Wanted. The host of the show, Suhaib Ilyasi, claimed that he got 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.

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. 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. 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. The mobile phone and diary recovered after the shootout provided evidence of his connections to politicians.

After death

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

In popular culture

* In 2005, a film, ''Sehar'', based on the STF's work which killed Shukla was released. The character based on Shukla was played by Sushant Singh.
* In 2010, a TV series, '' Gunahon Ka Devta'', was broadcast. One of the characters was based on Shukla.
* Zee5's '' Rangbaaz'' first session is based on Shukla's character played by Saqib Saleem.
* JioCinema's Inspector Avinash is based on the STF which killed Shukla.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shukla, Sriprakash
Contract killers
Indian murderers
1998 deaths
Criminals from Uttar Pradesh
Year of birth missing
Indian gangsters
Indian gangsters killed in encounters
People from Gorakhpur
Criminals from Bihar
Indian expatriates in Thailand