Day after stay on arrest is lifted, Gadoli encounter cops go missing

MUMBAI: The five Gurgaon policemen accused in the Andheri shootout case — in which gangster Sandeep Gadoli was shot dead — have gone missing after the stay order

MUMBAI: The five Gurgaon policemen accused in the Andheri shootout case — in which gangster Sandeep Gadoli was shot dead — have gone missing after the stay order on their arrest was lifted three days ago, said the special investigation team (SIT) of the Mumbai police.

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Gadoli’s girlfriend, Divya Pahuja, who is an accused, has also gone missing, said police.

Two teams were dispatched to Chandigarh and Gurgaon to arrest the policemen and Pahuja. The Chandigarh team has returned to the city while the other team is still in Gurgaon, to catch the accused.

On June 27, the Punjab and Haryana high court vacated the stay on the arrest of the five policemen in the Gadoli encounter.

After the high court had granted interim relief to the policemen, they came and even recorded their statements with the SIT, according to an order from the court. However, as soon as the relief was cancelled, all the policemen went missing.

“The police team has been visiting their houses for the past two days but they are not there,” said an official of the Mumbai crime branch.

Senior officials in the city police are now contemplating their next move in order to arrest the policemen. Sources said they would be mostly informing senior officials in Gurgaon police over the absence of the policemen.

Gadoli’s girlfriend Divya Pahuja, whom the SIT had earlier questioned, was also missing. She was later named as an accused in the FIR after the SIT learnt about her involvement in the case.

“Pahuja was the only one present in the room apart from the Gurgaon police and Gadoli. Even her name has been added after we found out that she had tipped off the policemen about Gadoli’s whereabouts. She was constantly in touch with the Gurgaon policemen and her mother over WhatsApp and has been informing them about their location,” said an officer. Pahuja had also been constantly changing her statements to the SIT.