Cat-and-mouse chase between woman cop and racket kingpin

NEWDELHI: Minutes before a police team “rescued” a student who was to “illegally” donate his kidney at Batra Hospital on Thursday, a thrilling cat-and-mouse chase played out between one of the racketeers and a woman sub-inspector on the South Delhi roads.

Sub-inspector Kavita Mathur was tasked with keeping an eye on two suspected middle men who were camping at a guesthouse in Hauz Rani where the donors were lodged. At the same time, her colleagues were readying to raid Batra Hospital where the student, Jaideep Sharma, was admitted to have his kidney removed.

Just a few minutes before the raid at the hospital, Mathur saw two suspects, Sulekha Panda and Jayant Sahoo, leave the guest house in separate cars. Accompanied by a tea seller working at her office, Mathur launched a chase in her personal car.

Mathur kept track of the duo for several kilometres before the two cars of the two suspects parted ways. Mathur chose to continue chasing Sahoo, the alleged mastermind.

“Sometime later, Sahoo realised that he was being followed. So he tried to get rid of the tail and began taking sudden turns and u-turns. But I managed to keep on his trail even though I am not acquainted with South Delhi roads,” Mathur told HT.

When Sahoo was certain that he was being followed, he decided to stop his car and confront the driver. Faced with a difficult situation, Mathur immediately came up with a plan.

She confessed to Sahoo that she was following him. “But I told him that my friend (the tea seller) that placed a bet whether I would be able to successfully trail him for 60 kilometres. I told him I had managed to follow him for 32 kilometres and intended to pursue him for another 28 kilometres,” said Mathur.

Sahoo was not convinced and wanted to get away quickly, but Mathur needed to keep him in sight until help arrived from her colleagues. So she invited him for a cup of coffee at a shop in Kishangarh.

An unwilling Sahoo obliged but ordered only soft drinks reportedly because he wanted to finish quickly and leave. But to delay his departure, Mathur ordered a large cup of coffee for herself.

As she engaged him in a conversation, she secretly dialled her crime branch colleagues. Talking to Sahoo, she began loudly describing the locality and the circumstances she was in.

A policeman at the other end was smart enough to take the hint and quickly send a police team to the café. Sahoo was arrested without much trouble thereafter.