ALWAR/JAIPUR: The Rajasthan police seemed oblivious to the danger lurking in their midst as they chose to move high-profile suspect Kuldeep Jaghina in roadways buses 12 times.
There were whispers of an impending gang war circulating ever since Kripal Singh, a prominent BJP leader, was gunned down by Jaghina’s men in Bharatpur last year in September.
The decision to transport Jaghina via roadway buses suggests that the police either overlooked the lurking danger in their midst or seemed unaware of the threat.
According to sources, a posse of seven police personnel, including six constables and one head-constable (HC), was assigned to escort him. The police party, armed with semi-automatic rifles (SLR), accompanied him from Sindhi Camp to Bharatpur.
“As soon as the team enter the Bharatpur, a team of the local police would escort them,” said an official.
The accused travelled with police in buses six times last month. This month, he was sent to Bharatpur twice in a similar fashion, providing ample opportunities for rivals to trail him. It was his 12th visit when he was shot dead. Sources now indicate that a member of the gang responsible for shooting Jaghina dead was present inside the bus, potentially relaying real-time information to other assailants.
The reason why the police repeatedly transported Jaghina, the prime suspect in the murder case, in roadways buses remains unclear.
Rajasthan police have several modern prison vehicles equipped with reinforced doors and a highly skilled Quick Reaction Team (QRT) for guarding. The shocking escape of gangster Anandapl Singh in 2015 prompted a renewed focus on providing additional security cover to notorious gangsters.
These strict transfer measures were also put in place when in 2011 a dozen armed assailants shot and killed two policemen, along with a notorious criminal Bhanu Pratap in Bhilwara. The incident occurred when policemen were transporting Bhanu the history sheeter, from Udaipur Central Jail to Jhalawar for a court hearing.
The court visits of gangsters have always been a grave task, but over the years agencies introduced measures, but Jaghina’s murder has left cops hard pressed to explain what went wrong.
There were whispers of an impending gang war circulating ever since Kripal Singh, a prominent BJP leader, was gunned down by Jaghina’s men in Bharatpur last year in September.
The decision to transport Jaghina via roadway buses suggests that the police either overlooked the lurking danger in their midst or seemed unaware of the threat.
According to sources, a posse of seven police personnel, including six constables and one head-constable (HC), was assigned to escort him. The police party, armed with semi-automatic rifles (SLR), accompanied him from Sindhi Camp to Bharatpur.
“As soon as the team enter the Bharatpur, a team of the local police would escort them,” said an official.
The accused travelled with police in buses six times last month. This month, he was sent to Bharatpur twice in a similar fashion, providing ample opportunities for rivals to trail him. It was his 12th visit when he was shot dead. Sources now indicate that a member of the gang responsible for shooting Jaghina dead was present inside the bus, potentially relaying real-time information to other assailants.
The reason why the police repeatedly transported Jaghina, the prime suspect in the murder case, in roadways buses remains unclear.
Rajasthan police have several modern prison vehicles equipped with reinforced doors and a highly skilled Quick Reaction Team (QRT) for guarding. The shocking escape of gangster Anandapl Singh in 2015 prompted a renewed focus on providing additional security cover to notorious gangsters.
These strict transfer measures were also put in place when in 2011 a dozen armed assailants shot and killed two policemen, along with a notorious criminal Bhanu Pratap in Bhilwara. The incident occurred when policemen were transporting Bhanu the history sheeter, from Udaipur Central Jail to Jhalawar for a court hearing.
The court visits of gangsters have always been a grave task, but over the years agencies introduced measures, but Jaghina’s murder has left cops hard pressed to explain what went wrong.
