Lucknow/Bareilly/IBNS: Bollywood actress Disha Patani's father Jagdish Patani has thanked Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath after a police encounter killed two men who were accused of firing shots outside his residence in Bareilly, media reports said.

Thanking the CM for quick action, Jagdish Patani, a retired CO, said in a video message, "On me and my family's behalf, I thank Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath-ji. He tracked down the accused and took action in quick time as he had promised to me.

"In a telephonic conservation with Yogi Adityanath-ji, I thanked him as under his leadership, the Uttar Pradesh government and police are fulfilling their commitment towards a fear-free society."

The case dates back to the early hours of September 12, when gunshots were fired at Patani’s ancestral home in Bareilly’s Civil Lines area.

The incident, which occurred around 3:45 am, shocked the quiet neighbourhood.

At the time of the shooting, the actor’s family- her father, retired Deputy Superintendent of Police Jagdish Singh Patani, her mother, and elder sister Khushboo Patani- were inside the residence.

The gangsters have said the firing was conducted due to the disrespect allegedly shown to Premanand Maharaj by Disha's sister Khusboo Patani, an ex-Army officer.

Goldy and Rohit wrote in a Facebook post that reads, "I, Virendra Charan, Mahendra Saran (Delana). Brothers, today the firing that took place at Khushboo Patna / Disha Patna (Bollywood actress)’s house (villa number 40, Civil Lines Bareilly, U.P.) we had this carried out. She had insulted our revered saints (Premanand Ji Maharaj and Aniruddhacharya Ji Maharaj). She tried to demean our Sanatan Dharma."

"The insult of our worshipped deities will not be tolerated. This was just a trailer. If next time again she or someone else shows any obscenity toward our religion, we will not leave anyone alive from their house. This message is not only for her but for all the artists of the film world and the people associated with them."

"Whoever in the future commits any such insulting act regarding our religion and saints, be prepared to face its consequences. If we have to go to any extent to protect our religion, we are ready for that. We will never back down. For us, religion and the whole society are always one; protecting them is our foremost duty," the post added.

Neither Disha nor Khushboo has issued any statement after the firing.

For the uninformed, Khushboo had criticised a controversial remark passed by spiritual leader Aniruddhacharya Maharaj on women and live-in relationships.

Khushboo had criticised Aniruddhacharya's remark where he said women who remain unmarried at 25 or more are usually promiscuous.

Khushboo had said as quoted by Hindustan Times, "He says girls who are above the age of 25 and stay in live-in relationships, woh 4 jagah mooh maar ke aati hai (they go from one person to another).

"If only he was around me, I would have made him understand the meaning of the words he has used against women. They are anti-national. You should never support b****** of the highest orders."

There was also confusion and misinformation spread online that Khushboo had made those remarks about Premanand Ji Maharaj, another spiritual leader. 

But Khushboo clearly stated that her criticism was in response to Aniruddhacharya’s misogynistic comments, and not aimed at Premanand Ji Maharaj.

The encounter

On Tuesday, a joint operation was carried out by the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (Noida unit) and the Delhi Police Crime Intelligence (CI) Unit in Ghaziabad.

According to police, the suspects opened fire when the team closed in. A brief gunfight followed, during which both accused sustained critical injuries.

They were overpowered, disarmed, and rushed to a hospital, where they later died.

The men have been identified as Ravindra, a resident of Rohtak, and Arun from Sonipat, both in Haryana.

Police recovered a cache of arms, including a Glock pistol, a Zigana pistol, and multiple live cartridges from the encounter site.

Authorities said the investigation is ongoing to determine whether more gang members were involved in planning the Bareilly attack.