E-Paper
Who was Sanjeev Jeeva, the gangster who became the face of crime in U.P.
Police sources say that his name came to the fore in the murder of BJP stalwart Brahm Dutt Dwivedi on February 10, 1997. Later, Jeeva was sentenced to life imprisonment in this case.
MEERUT Originally from Muzaffarnagar, Sanjeev Maheshwari (alias Sanjeev Jeeva) was involved with several infamous gangs and carried out several criminal activities for almost three decades. Although he started his journey as a compounder at a dispensary, he soon made his entry into the world of crime by kidnapping the very owner of the dispensary.
Not long after, he kidnapped the son of a Kolkata-based businessman and asked for ₹2 crore in ransom. Back in the 1990s, this ransom amount was mind-boggling. Subsequently, he joined the Nazim gang of Haridwar, and later, the Satendra Barnala gang.
Police sources say that his name came to the fore in the murder of BJP stalwart Brahm Dutt Dwivedi on February 10, 1997. Later, Jeeva was sentenced to life imprisonment in this case. Jeeva also worked closely with mafia Munna Bajrangi, and later, with Mukhtar Ansari. It is said that while Mukhtar was fond of state-of-the-art weapons, Jeeva had a clever network to collect such weapons.
According to UP Police, 24 cases were registered against him in different police stations of Muzaffarnagar, Shamli, Gazipur, Farrukhabad, and Hardwar. He and his gang were involved in murders, loot, extortion, kidnapping, robbery and cheating. His name also came up in the murder case of former MLA Krishnanand Rai.
Last year, the district court of Farrukhabad awarded him with a life imprisonment. However, he was acquitted in many other cases. The trial of three cases against him was still pending when he was shot inside Lucknow court on Wednesday.
Investigating different cases against him, police booked Jeeva under the Gangster Act 22 times. His property worth ₹4 crore was also confiscated under provisions of the Act. Recently his property was also attached by the administration.
Jeeva was also accused in the murder case of businessman Amit Dixit (alias Goldie) in 2017. Following the investigation of the case, the court sentenced him and three others for life. Therefore, Jeeva has been lodged in Lucknow jail. Nevertheless, he allegedly used to operate the gang even from jail. His gang has more than 35 members.
His wife, Payal, had contested assembly elections in 2017 on the RLD ticket. However, she was defeated. Incidentally, in 2021, Payal had written a letter to the then Chief Justice of India saying that Jeeva’s life is in danger. Her fears came true on Wednesday when unidentified assailants shot him dead.
