Absconding in Colonelganj firing-bombing incident, kept changing his hideouts to avoid arrest
Prayagraj: The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) arrested Rahul Kachhi, alias Rahul Kushwaha, a Rs. 50,000- rewardee, from Haridwar, Uttarakhand, who was absconding in connection with the sensational firing and bombing incident that occurred in the Colonelganj police station area in March 2026. The accused was wanted in an attempted murder case and a 50,000-rupee reward had been announced for his arrest.
The STF Prayagraj unit received information that Rahul was hiding in the Piran Kaliyar area of Haridwar. Under the supervision of Deputy Superintendent of Police Shailesh Pratap Singh, a team led by Inspector Jai Prakash Rai, including Sub-Inspector Vinay Tiwari, Head Constable Abhishek Mishra, Praveen Jaiswal, Kishan Chandra, Constable Ajit Rai, and driver Ravikant Singh, raided room number 107 of the Sabri Star Guest House and arrested him.
During interrogation, Rahul revealed that in March 2026, he and his associates had a dispute with Shivam Tripathi in Katra. This was followed by a deadly attack, involving firing and bombing, which injured several people. A case was registered at the Colonelganj police station based on Sundaram Tripathi’s complaint. Following the incident, he first went to Howrah to avoid arrest. After staying there for about two months, he rented a room in Bahraich. Upon learning of the reward, he fled to Haridwar and was living there under a concealed identity.
According to the Special Task Force (STF), Rahul Kachhi has a long criminal history. He has 11 cases registered against him in the Daraganj, Colonelganj, Jhunsi, and Cantonment police stations in Prayagraj, including murder, attempt to murder, the Gangsters Act, the Arms Act, and the Explosives Act.
During interrogation, the accused also mentioned the infamous Daraganj bomb and shooting incident of 2017. He stated that Akhilesh Tripathi, who was buying vegetables, was injured by a bomb during the attack on Gagan Nishad and died during treatment. Akhilesh Tripathi was the grandson of the great poet Suryakant Tripathi ‘Nirala’. Rahul was arrested and jailed in 2018 in connection with that case. The STF has arrested the accused in Haridwar and has initiated the process of handing him over to the Colonelganj police. He will be brought to Prayagraj on transit remand for further questioning and legal action.
