Bareilly earring snatcher arrested after encounter, pistol and jewellery seized
Synopsis
Bareilly police used facial-recognition tech on the Yaksha App to identify a serial offender within days of an earring snatching — then arrested him in a live encounter when he opened fire. The accused has eight prior criminal cases and was armed with an illegal pistol, raising questions about how long high-risk offenders cycle through the system before escalating to armed confrontations.
Key Takeaways
Devraj , 28 , was arrested on 2 November 2026 after sustaining bullet injuries in an encounter near village Mohanpur , Bareilly .
Police recovered an illegal .32-bore pistol , two live cartridges, one spent cartridge, the accused's motorcycle, and the stolen earring.
The suspect was identified using the 'Find Criminals – Find by Face' tool on the Yaksha App after reviewing CCTV footage.
The original snatching occurred on 30 October 2026 near Dashmesh Dhaba , Faridpur ; FIR No.
833/2026 was registered.
Devraj has eight prior criminal cases at Bareilly district police stations between 2019 and 2025 , including Arms Act and UP Gangsters Act offences.
A 28-year-old man accused of snatching a woman's earring in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, was arrested on Monday, 2 November 2026, following a police encounter in which he sustained bullet injuries. Officers from the Special Operations Group (SOG) and Faridpur police station recovered an illegal .32-bore pistol, two live cartridges, one spent cartridge, the motorcycle allegedly used in the crime, and the stolen yellow-metal earring from the accused's possession.
How the Crime Came to Light
The case originated on 1 November 2026, when a resident of village Kamalpur Palpur under the Cantt police station area, identified as Sunil, lodged a formal complaint. He reported that on 30 October, he and his wife, Ishu, were travelling by motorcycle to her parents' home in Mohalla Kanoon Goyan under the Faridpur police station area. At around 5 pm, near Dashmesh Dhaba, an unidentified motorcycle-borne man allegedly grabbed an earring from Ishu's ear and sped away.
An FIR — numbered 833/2026 — was registered against an unknown accused at Faridpur police station under Section 304(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and a dedicated investigation team was formed.
Technology That Cracked the Case
Investigators reviewed CCTV footage from the area and deployed the 'Find Criminals – Find by Face' technology available on the Yaksha App to narrow down suspects. The digital tools identified the accused as Devraj, son of Shyam Singh, a resident of village Bakaniya under the Faridpur police station jurisdiction. The use of Yaksha App's facial-recognition capability marks a growing trend in Uttar Pradesh police operations, where digital surveillance tools have increasingly complemented conventional ground investigation.
The Encounter Near Village Mohanpur
On the morning of 2 November, police received a tip from an informer that Devraj was riding a motorcycle near village Uganpur and may be planning another offence. SOG and Faridpur teams moved swiftly to intercept him near an unpaved canal track in village Mohanpur.
At around 7.30 am, the teams spotted a motorcycle-borne man approaching. When signalled to halt, he allegedly opened fire on police personnel. In retaliatory fire, the rider — later confirmed to be Devraj — sustained bullet injuries and fell from his motorcycle. He was taken to the district hospital for treatment. Police noted that the motorcycle was being operated without a registration number plate; after its chassis number was verified through the e-Challan application, the registration was traced to UP25ED6693 — the same vehicle used in the 30 October snatching, according to police.
Accused's Criminal History
During questioning, Devraj admitted to the 30 October snatching, and the recovered earring was matched to the stolen property cited in FIR No. 833/2026. Police said the accused has eight prior criminal cases registered against him across Bareilly district — at Baradari, Faridpur, and Izzatnagar police stations — spanning the period 2019 to 2025. These include offences under Sections 379/411, 365/506, and 413/414 of the Indian Penal Code, provisions of the Arms Act, Sections 309(4) and 317(2) of the BNS, and the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act.
Further legal proceedings are under way, and police said the case file is being strengthened with forensic and digital evidence. The encounter underscores the Bareilly police's increased use of real-time surveillance technology in petty crime investigations — a shift that officials say has shortened identification timelines significantly.
Point of View
But the detail that matters is the Yaksha App identification — UP police compressed a cold lead into a named suspect within days using facial recognition, a capability that was largely absent from district-level policing even three years ago. What the story does not answer is why a man with eight registered cases — including Arms Act and Gangsters Act charges — was still at large and armed. Arrest-to-conviction gaps and bail patterns in UP's courts remain the structural hole that technology alone cannot plug.
NationPress
2 Nov 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Devraj and what was he arrested for?
Devraj, a 28-year-old resident of village Bakaniya under Faridpur police station in Bareilly, was arrested for allegedly snatching an earring from a woman named Ishu on 30 October 2026 near Dashmesh Dhaba. He was apprehended on 2 November 2026 after opening fire at police and sustaining bullet injuries in a retaliatory encounter.
How did Bareilly police identify the earring snatcher so quickly?
Police reviewed CCTV footage from the crime scene and used the 'Find Criminals – Find by Face' technology on the Yaksha App to identify the suspect. The digital tool matched the face to Devraj within days of the 30 October snatching incident.
What items were recovered from the accused after his arrest?
Police recovered an illegal .32-bore pistol, two live cartridges, one empty cartridge, the motorcycle used in the snatching (registered as UP25ED6693), and the stolen yellow-metal earring from Devraj's possession.
What is the Yaksha App used by UP police?
The Yaksha App is a digital policing tool deployed by the Uttar Pradesh Police that includes a 'Find Criminals' and 'Find by Face' feature, allowing officers to match suspects against a database using facial recognition. In this case, it helped identify Devraj after the October 30 snatching incident.
What is Devraj's criminal background?
Devraj has eight prior criminal cases registered at Baradari, Faridpur, and Izzatnagar police stations in Bareilly district between 2019 and 2025. The cases include charges under the Indian Penal Code, the Arms Act, and the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act.
