2008 Rampur CRPF Camp Attack Convict Mohammad Sharif Shot Dead; Police Launch Manhunt
Total Views |
Rampur , November 12: Mohammad Sharif, a convict in the 2008 terror attack on the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Group Centre in Rampur, was shot dead by an unidentified gunman on 10th Nov . According to local sources, the assailant fired 16 rounds at Sharif. He was rushed to a hospital following the attack but succumbed to his injuries.
Police are now investigating Sharif's killing and efforts are underway to trace the unidentified assailant.
Police sources said Sharif sustained a gunshot wound to the head. The Rampur Police have launched a manhunt to identify and apprehend the shooter.
The killing comes nearly 19 years after the terror attack on the CRPF Group Centre in Rampur, which took place during the intervening night of December 31, 2007, and January 1, 2008. The pre-dawn attack, plotted by the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), claimed the lives of seven CRPF personnel and a rickshaw puller.
Sharif, a resident of Badanpuri-Khajuria village in Rampur, was arrested in connection with the attack and was lodged at Bareilly Central Jail. He was released in November last year.
In 2019, Sharif was convicted along with five other accused, including two Pakistani nationals, on charges of murder, terrorism and criminal conspiracy. Four of the convicts, including Sharif, were subsequently awarded the death penalty after being found directly involved in the attack.
Mohammad Sharif was arrested in connection with the 2008 Rampur CRPF camp attack.
— Anshul Saxena (@AskAnshul) November 11, 2026
A trial court sentenced him to death. But later, the Allahabad High Court overturned his death sentence and sentenced him to 10 years in prison under the Arms Act.
In 2025, he was released from… pic.twitter.com/YvFVcA3BNu
However, in October 2025, the Allahabad High Court overturned the death sentences and acquitted four accused in the case. The court upheld their convictions under the Arms Act for possessing prohibited weapons and sentenced them to ten years of rigorous imprisonment, along with a fine of Rs 1 lakh each.
While delivering its verdict, the High Court pointed out several procedural shortcomings in the police investigation. It highlighted the failure to conduct a Test Identification Parade (TIP) and raised concerns over the handling and preservation of physical evidence.
The court observed that firearms, cartridges and grenades allegedly recovered from the crime scene were not securely preserved and that their chain of custody had not been properly established. It also noted that key witnesses responsible for verifying the storage and transfer of the evidence had not been examined.