Sylvester, a key witness in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case who made a dramatic escape from Gujarat police custody on Friday, was rearrested late on Saturday night.
The witness, who fled after being produced in a court in Udaipur, was picked up by a Special Task Force of the Rajasthan police from Gopalpura area in Udaipur near the Vrindavan Garden at around 10.30 p.m.
“Acting on a tip-off, the special team arrested him,” IG, Udaipur, Govind Gupta, said.
A loaded pistol was seized from him, Anil Deval, STF officer who arrested him, told PTI .
Vadodara Police Commissioner Satish Sharma said he was arrested as he tried to enter his house which had been cordoned off.
Ahmedabad Special Correspondent reports:
Earlier a team of the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad rushed to Udaipur to assist the Rajasthan police to nab Sylvester alias Dipu. He was a close friend of fake encounter victims Sohrabuddin and Tulsiram Prajapati.
Sylvester, who was lodged in the Vadodara jail, was taken to Udaipur to appear before a court in connection with some cases there. While he was being brought back to Vadodara in a van of the Gujarat police and accompanied by four State police personnel, he managed to give them the slip.
Different versions were given on how Sylvester managed to escape. While the Udaipur police reportedly claimed it happened when the police escorts stopped at a wayside restaurant for a tea break, the Vadodara Police Commissioner, Satish Sharma, claimed that Sylvester had requested the police escorts to stop the van on the pretext of going to the toilet and escaped when he was un-cuffed and brought down the vehicle.
Mr. Sharma said the matter would be investigated and strict action taken if anyone was found to be involved in the escape.
The Central Bureau of Investigation which was investigating both the Sohrabuddin and Prajapati fake encounter cases has demanded a detailed report from the Vadodara Police Commissioner.
According to reports reaching here, the Rajasthan police have arrested two persons, Ravi and Manish, who it was claimed had come to meet the gangster in the court in Udaipur on Friday, and are believed to have played a role in his escape. They have also detained seven others for questioning.
Sylvester was held by the Gujarat police in connection with the firing involving Sohrabuddin in the office of the Popular Builders, which also was considered to be a “front” created by the Gujarat police, allegedly on the “advice” of the former Minister of State for Home, Amit Shah.
