Director-General of Police K. Ramanujam on Saturday transferred the police encounter case to the Crime Branch CID for further investigation.
The move follows a proposal sent by Commissioner of Police J.K. Tripathy.
Based on a complaint lodged by Deputy Commissioner of Police R. Sudhakar, the Velachery police registered a case pertaining to the death of five suspected bank robbers who were shot in an encounter by the police on February 23. Since senior police officials of the Chennai Police were involved in the incident, the case was transferred to another agency to ensure fair investigation, police sources said.
Sujay Kumar Rai alias Vinod Kumar, suspected kingpin in the bank robbery cases, is alleged to be one among the most wanted criminals by the Maharashtra police. He was involved in several major offences at least in three States, including three bank dacoities in Mumbai (Maharashtra), highly placed police sources said.
A native of Patna district in Bihar, Sujay was wanted by the police in connection with his alleged involvement in the bank dacoities that took place in 2010 in areas under the jurisdiction of Malad police station (June 21); Borivili police station (October 17) and Charkop police station (November10). Though others involved in the dacoity were arrested, Sujay absconded. A total of Rs. 81 lakh was robbed at gun-point in the three banks, a Joint Commissioner of Police here said.
“We also have information about his involvement in bank robbery cases in Chhattisgarh and Bihar. Requisitions seeking the antecedents of the suspects have been sent to the DGPs of different States,” the official said.
Bomb expert
According to a senior police official, Sujay was also an expert in making bombs. While making explosives in a clandestine factory near Patna, a bomb accidentally exploded resulting in his losing all fingers on the left hand. “We have been informed that he is involved in an Explosives Act case in Bihar. After identifying the bodies of other suspects in the case, we might get to know more about the activities of the gang,” he told The Hindu.
The official said bank officials had seen him holding a gun firmly while keeping the other hand in his trouser pocket most of the time.
“The witnesses remember him well. Of the three portraits developed based on the inputs given by the bank officials and customers, the portrait of Sujay matched to a large extent. He did most of the talking during the robbery. While one suspect spoke little Tamil and Telugu, the other three spoke only in Hindi.”
Family members of Sujay received his body after post-mortem at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital. They would soon proceed to their native village, the sources said, adding that Sujay's father, sister and others, who came to receive the body, gave conflicting versions on his activities.
With no clue emerging two days after the encounter on the network of the suspects and the booty they made in the Bank of Baroda branch in Perungudi here on January 23, special teams have rushed to Bihar, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand to check the antecedents of the gang.
i hav a poser to the human rights champions. is it not that when i as a law abiding citizen, going about my life earning a living in perfectly legitimate ways, am subjected to mental tension & pressure caused by dacoits who rob banks at gun point, is not my human rights violated? Is it not the duty of the law enforcement men to eliminate such individuals who cause distress in the minds of the rest of the society? Does our country not offer avenues to youth to show their mettle & come up in life? Individuals who resort to criminal acts to make quick & easy money rather than do legitimate work to earn a living do not deserve the same human rights that I do. Period.
They were all professional criminals. They carried weapons and indulged in bank robberies with loaded guns pointed at bank staff and customers. If some one among the staff or customers had made an inadvertent move or had said something which was not palatable to the bank robbers, they would have opened fire with intent to kill. They had indulged in bomb-making as well. On the whole they were habitual criminals and would not hesitate to go to the extreme steps if cornered by either the police or members of the public. Further it would take several years before they are fully tried in the courts of Tamilnadu, Maharashtra, Bihar and Chattisgarh. And the states will be feeding them with taxpayers' money on them and courts would be spending their valuable time on their trials. Once a criminal is always a criminal. They were not going to change because they were caught. They would still indulge in bank robberies even when they would be enlarged on bail. So it was good riddance.
According to me this encounter is right. This is not at all against
Human Rights and what they have done is Just. If these robbers have
the guts to rob the banks in Gun Point and try to harm the society and
why police are in the city to catch them and file case ?? which would
take years to complete, ultimately our government money and it would
relax other robbers to take a stand they would start their job cause
their is no severe punishment.Brutal Prosecution is needed so that it ignites a fear in the robbers and they don't try to do so in future. Now, no more filing cases are going to work than using your Gun with Law..
These guys have robbed several banks in many states and are experts in other criminal activities. Instead of giving medals of honor to the Tamilnadu police for a speedy action why are they conducting CBI investigation and wasting resources and time?
This has all the hallmark of a brutal execution. The top police officers who think they are above the law need to be charged with murder and prosecuted.
Why not transfer the case straight away to Central CBI? This will wash away all suspicion on the sincerity and earnestness of the probe.
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