Gadoli encounter: Have suspended 5 accused cops on May 30, says Gurgaon Police

The Gurgaon police on Friday broke its silence on the alleged encounter killing of wanted gangster Sandeep Gadoli and said it has suspended five officers, booked by the Mumbai police’s special investigation team (SIT) probing the case, on May 30.

The Gurgaon police on Friday broke its silence on the alleged encounter killing of wanted gangster Sandeep Gadoli and said it has suspended five officers, booked by the Mumbai police’s special investigation team (SIT) probing the case, on May 30.

Gangster Sandeep Gadoli was killed in an encounter at a hotel in Andheri East on February 7. (Hindustan Times)

The police said the action was taken despite not receiving “any official intimation from Mumbai police about the involvement of the accused officers”.

Friday’s statement by Gurgaon police assumes significance as it was its first reaction since May 27, when the SIT informed the Supreme Court that five Gurgaon police personnel have been booked in the alleged encounter.

“The involvement of some officers of the Gurgaon Police Crime Branch was indicated by the Mumbai police for the first time in their status report filed before the Hon’ble Supreme Court on May 27. This was also the first time that any such information came to the notice of Gurgaon police. Balbir Singh, deputy commissioner of police (DCP), Crime, Gurgaon said in a statement on Friday evening.

“Even though no official intimation has been received in this regard from Mumbai Police…, still the five officials of Gurgaon Crime Branch were placed under suspension on May 30, 2016, pending investigation into the said case,” Singh said.

The personnel named in the FIR by SIT are sub-inspector Praduman Yadav, constable Vikram Singh, head constables Pramjeet Ahlawat, Deepak and Jitendra. Besides them, Gadoli’s girlfriend Divya Pahuja, her mother Sonia and Manoj Binder, the brother of Gadoli’s rival Binder Gujjar, have also been named. The six-member SIT is camping at a hotel in Delhi’s Mahipalpur in connection with the probe.

On the SIT’s allegation that the Gurgaon police’s top officers were not cooperating with them, Singh claimed, “Gurgaon police has been and will extend all help that may be required under law to the SIT of Mumbai police in this case”.

Sources said the SIT on its visit to Gurgaon had not been accorded expected cooperation by Gurgaon police.

“The crime branch team camped in Mumbai for almost three weeks in February 2016. The requisite evidence that was asked for has been handed over to the SIT. The witnesses of Gurgaon police have also been examined by the SIT and their statements recorded…,” Singh added.

The Mumbai and Gurgaon police have been contesting each other’s claims over the authenticity of the encounter that killed Gadoli at a hotel in Andheri East of Mumbai on February 7. The Gurgaon police officials maintain that they killed him in retaliatory fire. The Mumbai police, based on the family’s claim, allege that the encounter was staged.