The Haryana Police Special Task Force (STF) arrested dreaded criminal Rajiv alias Bobby, who carried a cash reward of ₹2 lakh on his head, and his accomplice Sumit on Wednesday.
Bobby was among the top twenty criminals in Haryana wanted by the STF and with his arrest five of them have been accounted for.
Criminal history
Bobby (40) plunged into the world of crime in 1994 when he was arrested for carrying a knife to the examination hall. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in a case pertaining to kidnapping of one Aman Jain in Rohtak in 2002 and seeking ₹1 crore ransom. He was released on 42-day parole in December 2010, but did not return to jail.
Deputy Inspector General, STF, Satheesh Balan said that Bobby had opened fire on four persons on the same day in two separate incidents in Bahadurgarh last year.
He was a dreaded name in the area. He has previously been involved in the murder of a paan vendor and a petrol pump robbery case.
“He is involved in eight cases of robbery, murder and attempt to murder. Most of these cases are registered at Jhajjar and Rohtak,” said Mr. Balan.
Bobby and Sumit were arrested in Rajendra Park police station area in the afternoon, while the two were allegedly planning to steal a vehicle to commit a robbery in Jhajjar. Mr. Balan said they had planned to recruit more people in their gang to commit the robbery.
Pistols, cartridges seized
Two sophisticated 9-mm pistols and six cartridges have been seized from their possession, the police said.
His accomplice
Sumit is involved in a case of kidnapping, rape and murder of a girl along with his six accomplices. The case is registered at Bahadurgarh police station in Jhajjar. Sumit had raped and murdered the girl, who was kidnapped, after he did not get the ransom. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in the case.
Bobby was the fifth most-wanted criminal to be accounted for, Mr. Balan said, adding that while one Sampat Nehra was arrested earlier this month, another gangster Balraj Bhati was killed in a joint encounter of the Haryana and the UP Police in Noida earlier this year. Similarly, two more among the twenty most-wanted, Rajesh Bharti and Sanjeev, were killed by the Delhi Police in an encounter in Chhatarpur earlier this month.
Headed by Inspector General of Police, Saurabh Singh, the STF was set-up in December last with its headquarters in Gurugram. The 150-member STF team had started operating in a full-fledged manner in March.
