Kin to cremate Gadoli 7 months after encounter

MUMBAI /GURGAON: Slain gangster Sandeep Gadoli’s body would be flown to Gurgaon for cremation on Friday -- nearly seven months after the Gurgaon Police shot him

MUMBAI /GURGAON: Slain gangster Sandeep Gadoli’s body would be flown to Gurgaon for cremation on Friday -- nearly seven months after the Gurgaon Police shot him dead in an alleged fake encounter in a Mumbai hotel.

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Gadoli’s family received his body on Thursday evening, which they will take to Gurgaon on Friday morning to conduct his final rites.

“The body will reach Gurgaon at 11am on Friday,” said Sudesh Kataria, Gadoli’s sister. The last rites will take place at their native Gadoli Khurd village in Gurgaon, she said.

Gadoli’s family said they did not claim the body lying in Mumbai’s JJ Hospital’s mortuary since February 7 because they wanted all Gurgaon police officials allegedly involved in his encounter to be arrested.

Five Gurgaon policemen, including Pradyuman Yadav, who allegedly shot dead the most-wanted gangster, were suspended on May 30 and later arrested by the Mumbai police.

Sources said that the family changed their mind due to Gadoli’s ailing mother, who was recently hospitalised.

The SIT has been successful in arresting six persons that includes four policemen along with his girlfriend Divya Pahuja and her mother Sonia.

Sudesh further said, “We are not happy with the SIT’s interrogations as they have not arrested Manoj Gujjar, who is the mastermind. The SIT has claimed that my brother had killed police sub-inspector Pradhyman’s brother in 1999 which is not true.”

The family alleged that Gujjar, brother of rival gangster-turned-municipal councillor Binder Gujjar, bribed the Gurgaon Police to kill Gadoli.

Sudesh added, “Gujjar paid the police to kill my brother. The ACP, DCP and even the CP is involved in the conspiracy and I wish to see everyone in jail. We named 11 people in the FIR after the Supreme Court ordered the SIT to note the FIR on the basis of our complaint, but they have named just eight, of which two are yet to be arrested.”

Wanted in more than 30 cases, Gadoli had Rs 1.2 lakh bounty on his head. The Mumbai and Gurgaon Police have been contesting each other’s claims regarding the encounter. The Gurgaon Police officials maintain they killed him in retaliatory fire. The Mumbai police allege the encounter was staged.