A doctor who is a headache for the police

IT MAY sound bizarre but a ?doctor? has been a permanent headache for police in both Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh for the last five years.

IT MAY sound bizarre but a ‘doctor’ has been a permanent headache for police in both Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh for the last five years.

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The gang of dreaded dacoit ‘Dr’ Ambika Patel alias Thokia has perpetrated a reign of terror with spate of killings, abductions for ransom and robberies apart from huge extortion money extracted in the region around Chitrakut on the border of the two States in the last couple of years.

Although he holds no degree in medicine, Ambika holds a diploma in pathology, says Satna Superintendent of Police Sajid Farid Shapu, who claims the dacoit’s gang has been weakened after it suffered losses in a series of encounters with police.

The Satna police had several encounters with the gang last year and in the most recent operation two chief lieutenants of Thokia viz. Ashok Dwivedi and Lakhan were caught on Wednesday.

Wanted for over 15 murders including that of policemen and persons he suspected as informers, Thokia has earned crores in extortion from traders, contractors and rich farmers besides earning money through abduction for ransom. 

A senior police officer requesting anonymity says Ambika, an educated youth, was working as medical assistant with a private hospital when his sister was allegedly raped in his native village. In revenge, he allegedly killed six
people and subsequently turned into an outlaw.

Given his reputation of gunning down, he was christened ‘Thokia’. But this dacoit prefers to be known as Doctor and adds the prefix ‘Dr’ to his name. A few months ago Ambika Patel ‘Thokia’ had issued a letter to the retiring Chief Medical Officer (CMO) in Rewa demanding ransom that bore his signature as Dr Ambika. 

Highly placed sources say the terror of Thokia is such that without any robbery or threat, he earns Rs 25-Rs 30 lakh per month though extortion alone. The gang comprises around 15 core members apart from scores of other associates.

Recently the gang shot his archrival Omnath who was critically injured and is undergoing treatment in Allahabad. “Thokia enjoys the support of Uttar Pradesh’s biggest bandit Shiv Kumar Dadua, whose family members including brother and son have links with the Samajwadi Party,” adds the officer.

Thokia has a reward on his head in both Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. In Madhya Pradesh alone he is wanted in connection with over two-dozen cases.