Shri Prakash Shukla was born on October 6, 1973, in Mamkhor village, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India, as the youngest of five siblings. His father, Ram Samujh Shukla, was a retired Indian Air Force officer who later became a government contractor. Shri Prakash was known in his village as a notable wrestler and was said to have had a quiet childhood before his entry into crime. His first recorded criminal activity happened in 1993, when he shot and killed Rakesh Tiwari, reportedly due to a local gang rivalry over the cable television business. Fearing arrest, Shukla fled the country to Bangkok and returned later, where he became associated with political figures and expanded his network.

Upon his return, he adopted a second identity, Ashok Singh, and moved deeper into the criminal underworld. He became known for accepting high-profile contract killings, often working for politicians and criminal bosses who paid him to eliminate their rivals. His connections with influential people gave him both power and protection, allowing his criminal operations to grow across multiple states. By the late 1990s, Shukla was regarded as one of Uttar Pradesh’s most notorious gangsters, and his name appeared at the top of the Special Task Force’s (STF) most wanted list.

Between 1993 and 1998, Shri Prakash Shukla was linked to a series of murders, kidnappings, and contract killings, operating mainly in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. His reputation soared after he shot and killed Virendra Shahi, a politician and criminal rival, in Lucknow in 1997. In 1998, he was allegedly involved in the murder of Bihar minister Brij Behari Prasad in a Patna hospital. His gang was also involved in the kidnapping of Kunal Rastogi, the son of a businessman, from Lucknow; the boy’s father was killed during the abduction, and a large ransom was reportedly paid for his release. There were further allegations that Shukla had taken a contract to assassinate the sitting Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, though this was never proven in court.

The police formed a Special Task Force in April 1998 specifically to capture or kill Shukla and other top criminals. For months, the STF tracked Shukla using phone surveillance and informants. His movements were broadcast in India’s Most Wanted, a popular crime show, which led to tips that helped narrow his location. On September 22, 1998, Shukla was cornered and killed by the STF in a shootout outside an apartment complex in Ghaziabad, near Delhi. He had been planning to flee to Ranchi, where he had contacts in the arms trade. After his death, police recovered his mobile phone and diary, revealing a network of political connections. Some politicians were found to have given him shelter or received money in exchange for protection. Following Shukla’s killing, his gang retaliated, and several more violent incidents were reported in Uttar Pradesh.