Gurgaon: Wanted criminal flees crime branch custody

Shahid alias Advani, a 26-year-old inter-state criminal from Mewat, is wanted in several cases of murder, robbery and carjacking

 In a major setback to the Gurgaon police, a hardened inter-state criminal from Mewat escaped from police custody in Bilaspur on Thursday night. The accused, identified as Shahid (26) alias Advani, is a prominent gangster from Kharkhari village in Tauru tehsil of Mewat.

Since December 2017, as many as 14 cash vending machines have been stolen from various parts of the city. (Parveen Kumar/HT FILE)

He is booked in several cases of crimes, including murder, robbery and carjacking. Although Advani was arrested in connection with a carjacking in Pataudi, police sources said that he was being questioned extensively in connection with frequent ATM thefts taking place in Gurgaon over the last six months.

Advani escaped from the custody of crime branch, Bilaspur, where he was being questioned by the police. On Thursday night, Advani reportedly told the police that he wanted to use the bathroom and taking advantage of lax security, managed to slip away in the dark.

“A case has been registered against the accused under section 224 of the Indian Penal Code and teams have been constituted to nab him,” Ravinder Kumar, public relations officer, Gurgaon police, said.

The accused has 15 cases registered against his name in Gurgaon, Rewari, Tauru and Bhiwadi. He was involved in several heinous crimes including a murder in January 17, 2017 in Tauru. The murder was said to be the fallout of an old rivalry. A case of kidnapping and robbery was also registered against the accused at Faridabad central police station.

A section of the police department admitted that Advani’s escape from custody was a major setback as he was a hardened criminal, who they believe is a key conspirator in the ATM thefts. Not only this, nabbing Advani again from Mewat is likely to be a major challenge as it is extremely difficult for them to conduct raids in the crime-prone areas of Mewat.

“There is a lot of resistance from villagers in Mewat whenever we try to conduct raids and arrest criminals in that area. However, we are going to arrest him come what may,” said a senior official who said that the police are hoping to crack the ATM thefts with his arrest.

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It is suspected that after fleeing the custody of the crime branch, Bilaspur, the accused slipped into his stronghold as Tauru is just 25 km from where he escaped.

Advani was arrested by a team of Gurgaon police from a village near Tauru in connection with a carjacking, which took place at Uncha Majra village under the jurisdiction of Pataudi police station on July 3, 2017. The accused, along with his associates, had arrived in a Bolero at Pehalwan hotel and looted a truck after abducting the driver along with the cleaner. They were later dumped in the jungles. The truck was owned by a resident of Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh.

A Tauru resident said that the accused had several cases against him and was actively engaged in inter-gang rivalry in a bid to establish his supremacy in the area.