UP gangster’s henchman shot at in court area, dies
DARING Three gunmen shower bullets on Sunil Rathi’s aide Devpal Rana; lawyer injured
ARRESTED ASSAILANTS WERE IDENTIFIED AS SANJU AND MOHAN KUMAR BOTH RESIDENTS OF JIND IN HARYANA
ROORKEE: In a sensational incident, an undertrial prisoner brought to a court here for hearing regarding a murder and extortion case was killed by unknown gunmen on Monday.
Three gunmen pumped bullets on Devpal Rana, a resident of Uttar Pradesh’s Deoband and a close aide of gangster Sunil Rathi, on premises of the additional district judge’s court at Ramnagar area. He was rushed to Roorkee civil hospital where he succumbed to bullet injuries, officials said.
Rana’s lawyer Satish and another man identified as Amit, a resident of Roorkee, sustained injuries during the incident and are undergoing treatment at the hospital.
Rana was a constable with Uttarakhand police but in 2002 he was dismissed from the service for indulging in a loot at Mangalore in Haridwar. After this, he first got in touch with Uttar Pradesh gangster Jeeva and then with Rathi.
Police personnel accompanying Rana and those of Indian Reserve Battalion deployed inside the court caught hold of the two assailants while another managed to escape.
Arrested assailants were identified as Sanju and Mohan Kumar - both residents of Jind in Haryana, a police officer said.
The assailants were already inside the court premise before Rana was brought for hearing, said Manikant Mishra, the superintendent of police (rural).
Fifteen cases were registered against Rana at various police stations in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, Mishra said.
“We are still interrogating the two assailants and additional police personnel were deployed on the court premise and Roorkee prison. After interrogation, we can divulge more about the motive behind the killing,” he said.
District police chief Krishan Kumar VK, who inspected the court premise, directed officials to beef up of security measures at court premise as precautionary measure during hearings at such criminals.
Senior police official said the arrested assailants tried to misguide police by giving contradictory replies when interrogated. It appears that they have been hired by western Uttar Pradesh gangster Chinu Pundit, they said.
Rana was arrested in February by a Special Task Force for allegedly being the main accused in the August 2014 Roorkee gang war in which three members of rival Chinu Pundit gang were killed outside the Roorkee prison.
Pundit was being released from prison that day when Rana along with four accomplices had fired on Pundit, who escaped unhurt.