Army deserter accused of murder sent to 14-day judicial custody

Accused was produced in Sultanpur court on Monday after he was caught during a robbery attempt in Madhya Pradesh on Jan 16

Army deserter Sandeep Yadav (32), who allegedly fatally stabbed a Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA’s police gunner onboard a train near Sultanpur railway station nearly three months ago, was jailed on Monday after a court in Sultanpur sent him to 14-day judicial custody.

Rakesh Kumar (who was assigned to SP MLA Suhaib Ansari) was stabbed and his carbine looted when he was travelling on Shramjeevi Express on October 24 last year. The gunner died eight days later.

A senior police official said the accused was brought to Sultanpur by Government Railway Police (GRP) on transit remand after he was arrested while trying to rob a jewellery store in Chindwada, Madhya Pradesh on January 16. He said the GRP officials had decided to secure his custody remand for his further interrogation.

The cop observed Rakesh Kumar (who was assigned to SP MLA Suhaib Ansari) was stabbed and his carbine looted when he was travelling on Shramjeevi Express on October 24 last year. The gunner died eight days later.

“We had no clue about the assailant’s whereabouts and three months later on January 17 we were informed by the Madhya Pradesh police that they had arrested an Army deserter while he was trying to rob a jewellery store. Yadav also confessed to have stolen a carbine from a police personnel on Sharamjeevi Express. A GRP team led by DSP Sanjeev Sinha rushed to MP and found that it was the same carbine looted from the police gunner,” he added. “We’ve initiated proceedings to bring the accused to Sultanpur regarding the murder and loot case registered here.”

The police official said initial interrogation revealed that Yadav was posted in Meerut and had not reported to his unit even after his week-long leave ended in July 2022. He said the MP police recovered the stolen carbine, a khukri (a type of short sword with a distinct recurve) and an Army identity card from the accused’s possession after his capture.

The official said the accused confessed to attacking the police gunner and stealing his carbine. He added the accused was upset after his friend duped him on the pretext of starting a business venture following which he had taken a loan of ₹ 12 lakh. He said the accused left his Army unit and earned some fast money apparently by committing crimes.

The GRP had initially registered an FIR under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 394 (loot) against the incident at the GRP Sultanpur police station on October 24. The IPC section 307 was changed to 302 (murder) after the gunner’s death.