Palande planned to go to Bangkok: cops

Vijay Palande had planned to flee to Bangkok after he escaped from the police custody on Tuesday night and had asked his friend to bring his passport to the airport. However, the crime branch officers cut short his plan and re-arrested him post-midnight.

Vijay Palande had planned to flee to Bangkok after he escaped from the police custody on Tuesday night and had asked his friend to bring his passport to the airport. However, the crime branch officers cut short his plan and re-arrested him post-midnight.

HT Image

According to sources, when Palande was caught he was wearing a shirt and jeans. However, after his escape, he slipped into a T-shirt he purchased from a footpath vendor.

However, another source claimed that he changed at a friend's place, who was unaware of his arrest in the case.

"He then took a train to Churchgate," said Deven Bharati, additional commissioner of police, crime.

The aim was to dodge the police as Palande, a seasoned criminal, knew there would be police checks on the roads.

After reaching Churchgate, he called up a friend in Andheri from a PCO asking him to come to the Sahar international airport with his passport and some money by 3am.

"He wanted to fly to Bangkok since he is very familiar with the city. He regularly went there to meet his friend and [deported] gangster Santosh Shetty. Moreover, he would get a visa on arrival at Bangkok," Bharati said.