Lucknow, Aug 24 Five Uttar Pradesh Police personnel have been dismissed for allegedly helping gangster Badan Singh Baddo escape from police custody during transit.
The dismissed policemen are head constable Santosh Kumar, constable Sunil Singh, Rajkumar, Omvir Singh and driver Bhupinder Singh.
Earlier on July 31, sub-Inspector Deshraj Tyagi was dismissed from the police service in the same case.
On March 27, the team of six police personnel was given the task to escort don Baddo to Ghaziabad court for a case hearing.
Superintendent of police (SP) Fatehgarh, Anil Kumar Mishra, said, "The route for taking the undertrial to court was pre-decided, but on their return journey to the Fatehgarh jail on March 28, the policemen took Baddo to Meerut-based Mukut Mahal hotel from where the notorious gangster managed to escape."
After 48-year-old Baddo went missing, an FIR was lodged against 17 named accused and one unidentified at the Brahmapuri police station in Meerut. Several names were added during the course of the investigation.
Baddo's son Sikandar, also absconding, was made a co-conspirator in the case.
Nineteen persons, including several policemen and a couple of businessmen have been arrested. The businessmen includes Anil Chhabra and Mukut Mahal hotel owner Mukesh Singhal.
Baddo has more than 30 cases of murder, robbery, loot and extortion registered against him. He is the most wanted criminal in the state with a reward of Rs 2.5 lakh. He was sentenced to life imprisonment on October 31, 2017, for the murder of Ravinder Singh, a lawyer.
Baddo is said to own business in Australia, where his estranged wife and daughter are already settled.
In February this year, two Facebook posts were made from the account which went by the name 'Badan Sandhu', which is said to be the personal account of Baddo. While one was an update on relocation to the Netherlands, the other was a rant against a former Uttar Pradesh DGP alleging criminal nexus of police and mafia in fuelling organised crime in the state.
( With inputs from IANS )
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