Rajasthan
Man wanted by Jaipur police posed as priest in Haryana for 27 years until cops outwitted him | Jaipur News
JAIPUR: Desh Bandhu, 50, was convinced that Jaipur police had finally stopped searching for him after nearly 27 years. He enjoyed his days in hiding as a popular priest of a local ashram in Bapora in Haryana until a police party posing as devotees whispered to him that they had come to take him away.
A visibly shaken Desh Bandhu, living comfortably as Riti Maharaj for years, turned pale and quietly submitted himself to the VKI (Vishwakarma Industrial Area) police station on Wednesday.
According to SHO, VKI, Mangi Lal Vishnoi, several of the priest’s devotees were in disbelief and police had to convince them that the man in their custody was one Desh Bandhu Jat, a fugitive on the run since 1994 after being booked under Section 325 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt) of the IPC.
“We had never stopped looking for him because there were several warrants issued against him. He had changed his permanent address to evade police and became a priest of an ashram in Bapora in Bhiwani district of Haryana. He initially worked under a head priest and replaced him after the head priest died,” Vishnoi told TOI, adding that for over two decades Jaipur police was searching for the fugitive across several cities until they stumbled upon a clue a few days ago.
Vishnoi said that a police party including head-constable Sahab Singh was sent to Bhiwani. The cops arrived at the ashram posing as devotees. Singh and his team confirmed the fugitive’s identity. As people were milling around the ashram, one of the cops quietly told Desh Bandhu that they knew his real identity.
Sources said that the fugitive wore a stony look and agreed to come with city police. “He did not expect that police would still be chasing him after over two decades. We had also sought help from local police because it was a sensitive case,” an official said.
SHO Vishnoi said that a special operation was launched to catch old fugitives. Under the same operation, two other fugitives, Subey Singh Jat, 55, and Prateek Singh, 35, were arrested. “Our team at VKI had been continuously following up on leads for all fugitives,” Vishnoi said.
A visibly shaken Desh Bandhu, living comfortably as Riti Maharaj for years, turned pale and quietly submitted himself to the VKI (Vishwakarma Industrial Area) police station on Wednesday.
According to SHO, VKI, Mangi Lal Vishnoi, several of the priest’s devotees were in disbelief and police had to convince them that the man in their custody was one Desh Bandhu Jat, a fugitive on the run since 1994 after being booked under Section 325 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt) of the IPC.
“We had never stopped looking for him because there were several warrants issued against him. He had changed his permanent address to evade police and became a priest of an ashram in Bapora in Bhiwani district of Haryana. He initially worked under a head priest and replaced him after the head priest died,” Vishnoi told TOI, adding that for over two decades Jaipur police was searching for the fugitive across several cities until they stumbled upon a clue a few days ago.
Vishnoi said that a police party including head-constable Sahab Singh was sent to Bhiwani. The cops arrived at the ashram posing as devotees. Singh and his team confirmed the fugitive’s identity. As people were milling around the ashram, one of the cops quietly told Desh Bandhu that they knew his real identity.
Sources said that the fugitive wore a stony look and agreed to come with city police. “He did not expect that police would still be chasing him after over two decades. We had also sought help from local police because it was a sensitive case,” an official said.
SHO Vishnoi said that a special operation was launched to catch old fugitives. Under the same operation, two other fugitives, Subey Singh Jat, 55, and Prateek Singh, 35, were arrested. “Our team at VKI had been continuously following up on leads for all fugitives,” Vishnoi said.
