Criminal wanted in 500 theft cases dodges the police yet again

Sub-Inspector injured in early morning encounter with the fugitive

October 18, 2011 12:15 pm | Updated 12:16 pm IST - NEW DELHI:

A Delhi Police sub-inspector was injured in a brief encounter with Manoj Bakkarwala, one of the most wanted fugitives allegedly involved in over 500 cases of vehicle thefts, near ITO here in the early hours of Monday. The accused had escaped from the Haryana Police custody while being taken back to Bhondsi Jail from a Saket court in June this year.

Acting on a tip-off that Manoj had been spotted travelling in a car, a Crime Branch team started chasing him from Karkari Mor around 1 a.m. “The policemen, who were in four vehicles, intercepted the suspect's vehicle near the Delhi Secretariat. As Sub-Inspector Sanjeev alighted from a car and walked towards him, the accused reversed the car, hit the S-I, and then fired at the police team,” said a police officer.

The accused fired two rounds and the police four in retaliation, but he managed to give them the slip under the cover of darkness.

Sanjeev fractured his hand and sustained head injuries. “He has been admitted to a hospital,” said the officer.

Manoj (36), a proclaimed bad character of the Nangloi police station, was last arrested by the Special Cell in Najafgarh along with his accomplice Praveen over two years ago.

The accused entered the world of crime in 1998 after he met a carjacker named Makhan of his village. The same year he was arrested in an auto-theft case. The Crime Branch had earlier arrested him in 2003 and 2005. Two years later, he was arrested by the Gurgaon police. He had then escaped from police custody.

The second time Manoj escaped from the Haryana Police custody on June 20 this year. He was being taken back to Haryana by three policemen when he took a lift in a car to Gurgaon. They stopped at Sector 42 in Gurgaon, where the accused offered the policemen some snacks and getting an opportunity, escaped in the same car. The three policemen were arrested in that case.

The police suspect that it was a pre-planned escape for which the car had been arranged.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.