Former dacoit’s great grandson held for loot

LUCKNOW: A cop said he was reminded of Amjad Khan’s famous dialogue from the blockbuster movie ‘Sholay’ -- ‘Gabbar Singh ka naam poora mitti mein mila diya’ (Gabbar’s name was sullied) -- while arresting a man in Ashiana here on Thursday night.

The reason is that the arrested man, accused of committing petty loots, was none other than the great grandson of Malkhan Singh -- one of the most feared dacoits of the Chambal ravines.

Malkhan’s gang ruled the ravines for nearly two decades before surrendering in 1982. During this time, he and his men had over half-a-dozen encounters with the police in which they came out relatively unscathed, amassing a formidable reputation for themselves.

Confirming the arrest, superintendent of police (SP), North, Anurag Vats said, “The arrested youth, Ajay Singh, 25, is the great grandson of dacoit leader Malkhan Singh. He is also a national level handball player. He said that he took up crime after failing to get a job despite being a national level sportsperson, and was going through an acute financial crisis.”

Vats said Ajay’s modus operandi was to travel from Kanpur to Lucknow all by himself on his two-wheeler, commit loot and snatching in the state capital and then return to Kanpur. “He did it all alone as he believed there were fewer chances of landing in the police net if there was no accomplice and nobody was aware of his movements,” said the SSP.

However, this is what ultimately led to Ajay’s identification and arrest, he said.

“He was identified because of his unique modus operandi of committing crimes alone. We zeroed in on him through multiple video footages in which he was seen committing crimes alone. The police collected intelligence about criminals who had similar methods. Ajay was identified because of his previous criminal record in Kanpur,” said Vats.

The SSP said Ajay’s jeweller friend Akash Rastogi alias Shubham had also been arrested. “Ajay used to sell the looted gold items to Rastogi at 55% of their original price. Rastogi was completely involved in the crimes as he purchased the looted ornaments knowingly,” he said.

Vats said that Ajay’s involvement was suspected in at least seven loot and snatching incidents that took place in Lucknow over the past three months. “He is being interrogated about that. He was arrested once in 2014 and has nearly eight cases of loot and snatching against him in Kanpur,” he said.