RAJASTHAN: DEAD END FOR BRIGAND
Anand Pal Singh’s killing a shot in the arm for the state police
When Anand Pal Singh, Rajasthan’s most dreaded gangster, was finally shot dead in a midnight encounter with the state police’s Special Operations Group (SOG) on June 24, it brought an end to a year of hot pursuit.
SOG IG Dinesh M.N., who has spent seven years in jail for his alleged role in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case, meticulously tracked Singh for a whole year before his team caught up with the gangster at Malasar in Churu district. It was a dangerous enterprise. Singh, 43, had attained high notoriety and a reputation of invincibility, having made a daring escape from police custody in Nagaur in 2015 and subsequently shooting dead a police constable who challenged him during an encounter.
Putting together a team of personnel from various districts, Dinesh relentlessly pursued Singh. As many as 80 gang members had been arrested and benami property worth an estimated Rs 100 crore attached before the SOG team zeroed in on the gangster. Hours before Singh was killed, the police picked up two of his brothers in Sirsa, Haryana.
The gangster’s family has since refused to cremate him, insisting Singh was killed in a fake encounter. Jaipur-based lawyer Goverdhan Singh, who has known the family, claims guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court for police encounters had not been followed. Amid the stand-off, Rajput mobs have indulged in arson and violence at several places in Rajasthan, forcing the authorities to suspend internet and mobile phone services in the affected areas. Sanward village, where Singh’s body lies at his family home,