CRIMINALS FROM OTHER STATES POSE CHALLENGE FOR U’KHAND POLICE

DEHRADUN: The arrest of wanted gangsters of Delhi-NCR, Punjab and Haryana from Uttarakhand has put a new challenge for the state police.

Recently, three shooters, wanted in Haryana and carrying a cash reward of ₹50,000-1 lakh, were arrested from US Nagar.

Earlier in February, a most wanted gangster by Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan police, Anil Pehelwan, was arrested by Uttarakhand police while he was hiding in Dehradun.

He was having a bounty of ₹1 lakh. Before that in January 2018, another dreaded gangster from Punjab, Harsimrandeep Singh alias Simma with a ₹2 lakh reward was arrested from the state.

Similarly, in one of the major arrests, two close aides of the infamous 2016 Nabha jailbreak, Parminder Singh, were nabbed from Dehradun in the same year.

Senior superintendent of police, Dehradun, Arun Mohan Joshi said, “It is not at all becoming a safe haven or hideout for the gangsters of northern states. Police have been keeping a strict vigil and meticulously examining people coming to stay here from outside,” said Joshi.

He said that in some cases, it happens that criminals after committing a crime in their state or wanted there, come here to hide but, “that doesn’t mean that it is becoming a safe haven.”

“Police here regularly carry campaigns for tenant verification and act on any inputs about any suspected people. Also, if you compare the number of wanted gangsters nabbed in other major cities in north, the number here is very less,” said Joshi.

“The gangsters hiding here from other states were arrested by our police which shows that we are working actively on the ground,” said Joshi.

Former state director general of police, Aloke B Lal said that in crime world, the criminals usually hide in other states after committing a crime in their own state.

“They usually hide where they have their relatives or known persons. Still, Uttarakhand has a very low crime rate in comparison to its neighbouring states. This makes an impression on the criminals that the police might be less active or efficient which makes them choose Uttarakhand as their hideout,” said Lal.

“However, it is not at all true as our state police is as efficient as neighbouring states and UTs like UP, Delhi or Punjab,” he said.

The retired DGP added that to prevent the state from being a safe haven for wanted gangsters of other states, sharing of criminals’ database is the key.