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Malihabad murder: ‘Roaming’ criminals continued to have free run for long
Despite having several cases pending against them, two brothers drove e-autorickshaw and remained out of police net
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Auto driver and history-sheeter Ajay Kumar, 26, who was killed in a police encounter on Friday evening after he killed a woman from Ayodhya in Malihabad on March 19 following a rape bid, and his brother Dinesh Kumar, 35, a co-accused who is in police custody, continued to have a free run for around a decade.
During this period, several cases were lodged against them. However, they continued committing crime before the police acted against them after the shocking Malihabad incident. Also, despite being criminals, they managed to drive e-autorickshaw.
This happened even as after the formation of Lucknow Police Commissionerate in 2020, police started banishing criminals (externment in legal context) from the district for a certain period due to their potential to incite criminal activities or disrupt public order.
As per Ajay’s criminal antecedents shared by Lucknow police, he entered the world of crime in 2015. As per them, the first case was registered against him with Thakurganj police station for cheating and selling adulterated drinks.He went on to commit petty crimes and a total of 23 cases were registered against him during a period of time in various police stations of Lucknow.
They included 10 cases each in Para and Thakurganj police stations, two in Kakori, and one in Malihabad and most of them were of theft and fraud. The accused was also booked in serious cases under NDPS Act and Gangster Act with Thakurganj police station.
Ajay’s bother Dinesh had also been committing petty crimes like those of theft and loot since 2015, police said. A total of nine cases, including under the Gangster Act, have been registered against him so far. As per the Lucknow police, out of nine, three cases were registered with Kakori police station, five with Thakurganj and one with Malihabad police stations.
The 32-year-old woman had come to Lucknow on March 18 night after appearing for a job interview in Varanasi. She was en route to her brother’s home in Chinhat after deboarding a bus at Alambagh when the accused took her towards Malihabad area where she was first looted and then murdered after a rape bid early on March 19, police said.
Commissioner of police Amrendra K Sengar said, “City police with district administration is brining colour coding QR for e-rickshaws and e-autorickshaws which will have all details of the drivers including police verification which will help cops identify drivers having criminal background.”
The Malihabad murder co-accused Dinesh Kumar seemed to have no remorse as he was seen smiling to the camera when he was nabbed on Friday. His brother and main accused Ajay Kumar, who carried a bounty of ₹1 lakh on his head, lost his wife a year ago. He was the youngest among four brothers. He lived with his mother Laxmi Devi and brother Pawan. While his elder brother Dinesh lives alone the next door, his other brother Sunil resides separately with his family.
