By ARUN PRATAP SINGH
DEHRADUN, 2 Oct: Uttarakhand Police deserve credit for finally solving the high profile robbery case related to owner of Abhimanyu Cricket Academy, RP Easwaran, and for the arrest of the majority of the accused. However, questions still remain in respect of how easy it has become for the criminals to commit major crimes in Uttarakhand and, particularly in Dehradun, which was not long ago known to be almost crime free and a tranquil place! The Police finally managed to arrest the mastermind behind the robbery and three other culprits on Tuesday and claimed to have solved the case. The Police claim to have arrested the culprits from Delhi. It may be recalled that the late evening housebreak on 22 September this year in the Malsi located house of Chartered Accountant and owner of Abhimanyu Cricket Academy RP Easwaran had shocked the people across the state. Four armed robbers had broken into Easwaran’s house after doing a day long recce and had robbed the family of cash and jewellery worth lakhs of rupees as well as some foreign currency at gunpoint. The Dehradun Police were under a lot of pressure to solve the high profile case and nab the culprits and, to their credit, they did manage to solve the case within ten days, and even arrest the mastermind behind the high profile robbery. On Tuesday, Dehradun Police officers disclosed that they had nabbed Virendra Singh alias Thakur, said to be the kingpin in the case, Mohammad Adnan, Muzibbur Rehman alias Piru, Furqan and Firoz. At the same time, the Police are still looking for Haidar, Faheem and Mishra, whose names are yet to be verified.What led the Police to successfully conclude the investigations in the case was identification of one of the cars used in the crime. Scanning various CCTV cameras in the area, the Police were able to identify a Blue Chevrolet Beat car used in the robbery. The car was registered in Adnaan’s name. Once Adnaan was arrested and interrogated, he revealed the others’ identities and other relevant details. Following this, the Police were able to nab the others from Delhi. The Police claim to have recovered cash worth Rs 11 lakhs, some artefacts of high value, two cars and a motorcycle, besides jewellery. The Police had formed several teams for investigation into the case. The teams were led by SP City, Shweta Chaubey, and SOG Chief A Pal. SSP Arun Mohan Joshi took personal interest in the case to ensure that it was solved early. According to the Police, the accused claim to have initially planned a robbery in the house of leading businessman Rakesh Batta but had to give it up because the security guards posted in his house had got suspicious of them. The ribbery at Easwaran’s house was a late decision. Now, whether this claim is true or not is yet to be verified. What is shocking is the fact that the chief culprit, Virendra Singh, alias Thakur, is an ex Deputy Commandant of the Border Security Force. He has been arrested in the past too and been suspended in the year 2010 fori criminal activities and was later dismissed from service. What is even more shocking is the fact that the same gang had indulged in more robberies in Dehradun in the recent past, which the Police claim were never reported. One such robbery was to the tune of Rs 1.38 crores which were plundered from the house of a government official in Vasant Vihar in May this year. Probably, the money may have been ill-gotten and, therefore, the robbery was not reported. However, it remains to be verified if the robbery had really not been reported at all or had not been registered by the Police. It is a well known fact that some cases are not deliberately registered by the Police for some obvious reasons. One of the reasons is to avoid showing growing crime in the city. It is interesting to note the profile of those arrested or those still absconding. The main accused Virendra Singh alias Thakur is a resident of Chhatarpur, Delhi. Adnaan is a resident of Sadar Bazar, Delhi. Furqan is from from Bhagwanpur, Haridwar, while the fourth arrested is Muzibur Rehman whose current place of residence is Azad Colony, Dehradun. Those still absconding are Faheem from Raghubir Nagar, Delhi, Haidar from a Bijnore village and Feroz from Raghubir Nagar Delhi. Feroz and Faheem are brothers. The profiles suggest a well organised gang thar has been indulging in serious crimes in a very organised manner. With the exception of Adnaan, none is from Dehradun, which shows how easy it is for outside criminals to operate in Uttarakhand or use it as a safe haven to chill after committing crimes in other states. Though, the City Patrol Unit was created by Uttarakhand to keep a tab on unusual incidents and suspicious movements and to help gather intelligence, it has restricted itself to just harassing teenagers and younger persons riding two-wheelers. The local intelligence unit in Dehradun has also failed to really keep a tab and gather intelligence on hardcore criminals using Dehradun and other nearby towns as a safe haven. Clearly, the Police need to pull up their socks if organised crime is to be curbed.
