Bandit killed after 30 years on run

Indian police killed one of the country's most notorious bandits yesterday ending a nearly three-decade career in crime that included murders, kidnappings and extortion, police said.

Shiv Kumar, also known by the alias Dadua, ruled the ravines and forests of the central states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh through a mixture of fear and love, with many hailing him as a modern day Robin Hood.

"After a fierce battle, in which (the bandits) also used sophisticated weapons, the police was able to kill Dadua. He has been identified by the villagers," said A. K. Jain, inspector-general of the police special task force.