LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) on Tuesday arrested two wanted accused in separate high-profile cases, including an active member of the Kapil Sangwan alias Nandu gang and a key accused wanted in the 2024 RO/ARO recruitment examination paper-leak case.The accused were identified as Anurag Mishra, a resident of Lavayan Kala in Prayagraj, and Pushkar Pandey, a resident of Ramgarh Deha village under Karchhana police station in Prayagraj.The arrests were made near the RTI Bhawan, close to Parshwanath Apartment, in the Vibhuti Khand area of Lucknow.The STF team recovered a Fortuner car, Rs 2,500 in cash, three smartphones—one Samsung Fold and two iPhones—and a driving licence from the accused.Pushkar wanted for over two years in RO/ARO paper-leak casePushkar Pandey had been absconding for more than two years in FIR No. 74/2024, registered at Civil Lines police station in Prayagraj in connection with the RO/ARO recruitment examination paper leak.He is booked under provisions relating to cheating, forgery, use of forged documents, criminal conspiracy and destruction of evidence, besides sections of the Uttar Pradesh Public Examination Act and the Information Technology Act.According to the STF, Pandey told investigators during questioning that his maternal cousin Rajeev Nayan Mishra was involved in leaking recruitment examination papers.Pandey claimed that he began working with Rajeev Nayan after returning to Bhopal in 2022 and subsequently became involved in the examination paper-leak network.The STF said Pandey disclosed his alleged role in arranging candidates and helping distribute answers to an examination paper that was allegedly leaked from a printing press in Bhopal in February 2024.According to the interrogation account cited by the STF, around 30-40 candidates were brought to the basement of Arogyam Hospital near Mahuari in Naini, Prayagraj, on February 10, 2024. Pandey allegedly helped facilitate their entry and stay there.The STF said the leaked RO/ARO paper was subsequently brought from Bhopal and answers were allegedly provided to the candidates at the hospital. Pandey reportedly claimed that he was promised Rs 5 lakh for his role and received Rs 3 lakh in cash in two instalments.Police recruitment paper-leak case tooThe STF said Pandey also disclosed his alleged involvement in the Uttar Pradesh Police recruitment examination paper-leak case held in February 2024.According to the statement attributed to him, candidates were taken by bus to a resort in Rewa, Madhya Pradesh, where several hundred candidates were allegedly made to go through the leaked paper.Pandey allegedly claimed that his role was to transport candidates to the venue and bring them back after the answers had been provided. He told investigators that he received Rs 2.5 lakh in cash for the assignment.The police recruitment examination was subsequently cancelled after the paper leak came to light, and separate cases were registered in connection with the racket.The STF said Pandey was wanted in several cases in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh and had been evading arrest. After members of the network began getting arrested, he allegedly destroyed his mobile phone and went underground.Nandu gang operative linked to Delhi property dealer murderThe second accused, Anurag Mishra, was wanted in connection with the murder of Delhi property dealer Raj Kumar Dalal in April 2025.According to the STF, the murder conspiracy was planned by London-based gangster Kapil Sangwan alias Nandu, described by investigators as the leader of the Nandu gang.The shooters allegedly involved in the murder were identified as Taranjit Singh, Suraj, Shubham Sharma and Shaukeen, all residents of Yamunanagar in Haryana.The STF said Anurag and his brother Akash Mishra allegedly played an important role in facilitating the conspiracy, including arranging shelter, weapons and money for the shooters and assisting them in attempts to flee the country.Akash Mishra is currently lodged in Tihar Jail, while Anurag had been wanted for around one-and-a-half years.Following his arrest, the STF contacted West Delhi Police, which confirmed that Anurag was wanted in FIR No. 167/2025 registered at West Delhi police station. A non-bailable warrant had also been issued against him by the Tis Hazari court on April 10, 2026.Anurag was subsequently handed over to Delhi Police for further legal action.Family criminal links under STF scannerDuring interrogation, Anurag reportedly told the STF that his brother Akash was in jail in connection with the Raj Kumar Dalal murder case. His father, Dilip Mishra, is also lodged in Fatehgarh Jail in connection with the murder of Dr Bansal in Prayagraj and has around four dozen criminal cases registered against him, according to the STF.The agency is also examining the wider network and links of the accused.Pushkar wanted in more than half-a-dozen casesThe STF said Pushkar Pandey was wanted in more than half-a-dozen criminal cases registered in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.His criminal history includes the Civil Lines RO/ARO paper-leak case in Prayagraj, a 2015 murder case registered at Phulpur, a 2018 case under Section 174-A of the IPC, an examination-related case registered at Manjhanpur in Kaushambi, another recruitment examination case registered at Kankerkhera in Meerut, a 2026 case at Karchhana in Prayagraj and a 2023 examination-related case registered by the Crime Branch in Gwalior.The STF said investigation in the Prayagraj RO/ARO paper-leak case is continuing and 32 accused have so far been arrested in the case.
