Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 9 Jul: The Special Task Force (STF) arrested two members of the Chinu Pandit gang and recovered illegal weapons from them. SSP, STF, Navneet Singh Bhullar said they were planning a major crime, but his team successfully arrested them before any crime occurred. The police recovered three pistols with 8 live cartridges, one country-made pistol with 4 live cartridges, a vehicle, and a motorcycle from them.
The two arrested accused have been identified as Samarth Panwar alias Sagar (26), currently living in Premnagar, Dehradun, and Sanjay Negi, a resident of Tehri Garhwal.
During the investigation, it was revealed that Sanjay Negi arranged all the weapons and had met Chinu Pandit in Roorkee jail on 1 July, where Chinu allegedly gave instructions to carry out a major crime in Haridwar.
The SSP-STF said, “Our team had received reliable information that Chinu Pandit was soon to be released on parole and was planning a major criminal act in Haridwar with the help of his gang. Today was the scheduled date of his parole hearing in the High Court.”
In 2014, members of the Sunil Rathi gang killed associates of the Chinu Pandit gang. According to information, the weapons recently recovered were being gathered to take revenge on Sunil Rathi. Sunil Rathi is currently serving a life sentence in Pauri Jail.
Further investigation revealed that one of the accused, Samarth Panwar, was running a restaurant named ‘Nirwana’ on Paonta Sahib Road in Premnagar. He was also residing in the area on rent. Samarth, along with Sanjay, was involved in collecting weapons, which were reportedly sourced from Uttar Pradesh.
As per available information, the gang had managed to collect a total of 11 weapons, out of which STF has recovered four so far. The weapons were recovered from different locations including Kotdwar, Jwalapur, and Roorkee. The STF is now working to trace the remaining weapons and identify other members involved in the conspiracy.
Criminal History of Chinu Pandit: He is a resident of Paschimi Ambar Talab, under Gangnahar Police Station in Haridwar district. He has around 30 criminal cases registered against him, including murder, attempt to murder, robbery, and kidnapping. At present, Chinu Pandit is lodged in Roorkee Sub-Jail.
It is said that Chinu runs a gang of criminals. According to sources, he has been involved in criminal activities since the beginning. Several cases are registered against him in Haridwar district. In 2014, a gang war took place outside Roorkee Sub-Jail, which resulted in the death of three members of Chinu Pandit’s gang. Since then, even while being in jail, Chinu Pandit has continued to operate his gang.
The STF said that more names from the gang have come up during the investigation. This operation was carried out by a special STF team led by Inspector Abul Kalam and included officers and constables.
