KrushiN1 at 08:32, 14 April 2026

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{{short description|Indian gangster, 1973-1998}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=March 2019}}
{{Infobox Criminal
| name = Yash Gulati
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1973|10|06}}
| birth_place = [[aliganj|Mamkhor, Aliganj]]<br />[[Uttar Pradesh]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1998|09|22|1973|10|06}}
| beginyear = 1993
| endyear = 1998
| birth_name = Shiv Prakash Shukla
| other_names = *gulati {{small|(In Police Records)}}
*Ashok Singh {{small|(In Police Records)}}
| death_place = [[Ghaziabad]], [[Uttar Pradesh]]
| death_cause = [[Encounter killing]]
| years_active = 5
| wanted_by = [[Special Task Force (India)]]
| parents = Late Ram Samujh Shukla (father)
| occupation = [[Gangster]]
| known_for =
| image =
| caption = Only Photograph Available Till Date
| relatives =
| weapons = *[[Ak-47]]
*[[.45 ACP|.45mm Pistol]]
*[[Pistol Auto 9mm 1A|9mm Pistol]]
*[[Carbine]]
}}
'''Sri Prakash Shukla''' (6 October 1973 – 22 September 1998)<ref name=Bedfellows/> was an Indian gangster and [[Contract killing|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.<ref name=Bedfellows/> He was killed on 22 September 1998, in an encounter with the UP police's [[Special Task Force (India)|Special Task Force]], which was formed primarily to eliminate him.<ref name=TipOff>{{cite news|title=Gangster killed following tip-off|url=http://www.rediff.com/news/1998/sep/25gang1.htm|accessdate=21 May 2015|work=[[Rediff]]|date=25 September 1998}}</ref> He was just 24 at the time of his death.

==Life==
{{Promotional|section|date=April 2023}}
Shukla was born in Mamkhor village, [[Gorakhpur]], India on [[Dussehra]] ({{birth date|1973|10|06}}) in a [[Brahmin|Hindu Brahmin]] family.<ref>{{cite web
|title=Shri Prakash Shukla: वो ब्राह्मण गैंगस्टर जिसने मुख्यमंत्री को ठोकने की सुपारी ले ली। Biography
|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAS2rhwUGGM
|website=YouTube
|publisher=NMF News
|date=2021-06-18}}</ref>
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 [[pehlwani|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 year old Shukla shot a man dead due to a local gang rivalry,<ref>{{Cite news|title=Early Life of Don |accessdate=6 February 2025|url=https://hindi.news18.com/news/uttar-pradesh/gorakhpur-when-1990s-don-notorious-gangster-shri-prakash-shukla-got-scared-from-one-pose-of-bollywood-actor-suniel-shetty-up-stf-used-poster-know-unheard-story-8135221.html|website=News 18|date=11 March 2024}}</ref> 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 former MP [[Surajbhan Singh]] of [[Mokama]], [[Bihar]].<ref name="Slinger">{{cite news|title=Death of gunslinger|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/states/uttar-pradesh/story/19981005-kalyan-singh-gets-edge-in-his-war-against-crime-as-police-guns-down-top-don-sp-shukla-827145-1998-10-04|access-date=23 May 2015|work=[[India Today]]|date=5 October 1998}}</ref><ref name=Bedfellows/> 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|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 Pratap Shahi|Virendra Shahi]], would be targeted next for the Chillupar assembly seat.<ref name=Bedfellows/><ref name=Slinger/><ref name=Flaw>{{cite news|title=Rule of Flaw|url=http://archives.digitaltoday.in/indiatoday/24111997/up.html|accessdate=23 May 2015|work=[[India Today]]|date=24 November 1997}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|title=
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
|url= https://www.bhaskarenglish.in/local/uttar-pradesh/news/bahubali-shriprakash-shukla-fired-with-126-bullets-in-lucknow-killings-ended-in-1998-136571672.html
|website= www.bhaskarenglish.in
|date=
|access-date=
}}</ref>

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 {{INR}}5 Crore from a relative in Kanpur to free the son.<ref name=Bedfellows/><ref name=Fear>{{cite news|title=Where fear is the key|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/states/story/19980706-increase-in-crime-mafia-activity-puts-uttar-pradesh-cm-kalyan-singh-on-the-defensive-826566-1998-07-05|work=[[India Today]]|date=6 July 1998}}</ref><ref name=Elastic>{{cite news|title=Elastic standards|url=http://www.frontline.in/static/html/fl1514/15141220.htm|accessdate=23 May 2015|work=[[Frontline (magazine)|Frontline]]|date=17 July 1998}}</ref>

In 1998, Shukla was tasked with eliminating [[Brij Behari Prasad]], a rival minister in [[Lalu Prasad Yadav|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. During his stay, Shukla noticed a female assistant, a local MP [[Pappu Yadav|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.<ref>{{cite web
|title=
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
|url= https://www.bhaskarenglish.in/local/uttar-pradesh/news/bahubali-shriprakash-shukla-fired-with-126-bullets-in-lucknow-killings-ended-in-1998-136571672.html
|website= www.bhaskarenglish.in
|date=
|access-date=
}}</ref>

Soon after, ADG Ajay Raj Sharma was summoned urgently by the then Chief Minister [[Kalyan Singh]], who revealed that a 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.<ref name=Bumped>{{cite news|title=Kalyan Singh's would-be assassin bumped off|url=http://m.rediff.com/%0D%0Anews/1998/sep/23up.htm|accessdate=23 May 2015|work=[[Rediff]]|date=23 September 1998|archive-date=23 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150523170349/http://m.rediff.com/%0D%0Anews/1998/sep/23up.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

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 [[Special Task Force (India)|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.
<ref>{{cite web
|title=
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
|url= https://www.bhaskarenglish.in/local/uttar-pradesh/news/bahubali-shriprakash-shukla-fired-with-126-bullets-in-lucknow-killings-ended-in-1998-136571672.html
|website= www.bhaskarenglish.in
|date=
|access-date=
}}</ref>

==Death==
On 8 and 15 September 1998, episodes about Shri Prakash Shukla were broadcast on the crime show [[India's Most Wanted (TV series)|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 district, India|Ghaziabad]] in a blue Daewoo Cielo. The tips were forwarded to the [[Delhi]] and [[Uttar Pradesh]] police.<ref name=TipOff/>

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 [[Surajbhan Singh|Suraj Bhan]] lived.<ref name=Bedfellows/><ref name=TipOff/><ref name=Slinger/> By this time, the task force, which was formed in April, had spent {{INR}}1 million in the investigation and had flown between [[Patna]], [[Lucknow]] and [[Delhi]] trying to track him down.<ref name=Bedfellows/> He was tracked down primarily by his mobile phone. He used to change [[SIM card]]s but he had used one number more than other for a week.<ref name=Slinger/> The mobile phone and diary recovered after the shootout provided evidence of his connections to politicians.<ref name=Saga/>

==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.<ref name=Bedfellows>{{cite news|title=Criminal's Bedfellows|url=http://archives.digitaltoday.in/indiatoday/26101998/invest.html|accessdate=23 May 2015|work=[[India Today]]|date=26 October 1998|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150529065501/http://archives.digitaltoday.in/indiatoday/26101998/invest.html|archive-date=29 May 2015}}</ref> On 5 November 1998, Pritam Singh, a member of the STF, was shot dead by members of Shukla's gang.<ref name=Solved>{{cite news|title=UP police inspector's murder solved|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/1999/99feb14/nation.htm#2|accessdate=23 May 2015|work=[[The Tribune (India)]]|date=13 February 1999}}</ref><ref name=Ordinary>{{cite news|title=Not an ordinary crime|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/1998/98nov07/edit.htm#2|accessdate=23 May 2015|work=[[The Tribune (India)]]|date=7 November 1998}}</ref>

==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]].<ref name=Saga>{{cite news|title=STF saga on celluloid|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/STF-saga-on-celluloid/articleshow/1158751.cms|accessdate=23 May 2015|work=[[The Times of India]]|date=2 July 2005}}</ref><ref name=Sehar>{{cite news|title=Special Task Force behind Sehar story|url=http://archive.mid-day.com/news/2005/jul/114187.htm|accessdate=23 May 2015|work=[[Mid Day]]|date=17 June 2005|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304042729/http://archive.mid-day.com/news/2005/jul/114187.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=BrightLight>{{cite news|title=Hero police - Increasingly the arm of the law is being shown in a new bright light|url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050729/asp/etc/story_5032360.asp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060427121939/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050729/asp/etc/story_5032360.asp|url-status=dead|archive-date=27 April 2006|accessdate=23 May 2015|work=[[The Telegraph (India)]]|date=29 July 2005}}</ref>
* In 2010, a Game series, ''[[Gunahon Ka Anda (TV series)|Gunahon Ka Devta]]'', was broadcast. One of the characters was based on Shukla.<ref name=Gangster>{{cite news|title=LSD to a UP Gangster|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/bollywood/lsd-to-a-up-gangster/article1-598020.aspx|accessdate=23 May 2015|work=[[Hindustan Times]]|date=9 September 2010}}{{Dead link|date=May 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
* [[Zee5]]'s ''[[Rangbaaz (web series)|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==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shukla, Sri Prakash}}
[[Category:Contract killers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian murderers]]
[[Category:1998 deaths]]
[[Category:Criminals from Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing]]
[[Category:Indian gangsters]]
[[Category:Indian gangsters killed in encounters]]
[[Category:People from Gorakhpur]]
[[Category:Criminals from Bihar]]
[[Category:Indian expatriates in Thailand]]

Sri Prakash Shukla - Revision history

KrushiN1 at 08:32, 14 April 2026