2-day chase by Gurgaon cops ends with a bullet in gangster's chest

2-day chase by Gurgaon cops ends with a bullet in gangster's chest
By Nazia Sayed and Tariq Khan

When Crime Branch sleuths from Gurgaon City got a tip-off day that their most wanted man was spotted driving on the highway on Friday, they hadn’t anticipated that they’d be chasing him for two days, all the way down to a suburban hotel in Mumbai, before shooting him dead in his room, in a crossfire not very different from a gang war.

But as the weekend’s event unfolded, it became clear to them that Sandeep Gadoli, the big-league gangster who had a price of Rs 1.25 lakh on his head, was not going to cave in easily.

According to the police, Gadoli had come to Mumbai on Saturday night, with two of his accomplices, named Manish Khurana and Deepak. They checked into the Metro Airport hotel in Andheri, near Leela Business Park, with three woman escorts whom they had picked up from Jaipur.

HOT PURSUIT

Just the day before, sleuths in Millennium City got word from an informant that their target was seen near Gurgaon Highway, heading south. The cops had been waiting for a cue of this sort for the past two years, ever since Gadoli, convicted and awarded a lifer for his many crimes, had first escaped their custody. Wasting no time, they decided to catch the absconder.

But by the time they reached the highway, Gadoli had slipped through their fingers once more. But they decided to continue following him. They were helped to further information that Gadoli had reached Bhiwarli village near Haryana’s border. Yet again, before they could get to him, Gadoli had taken off.

The cops then traced him to Jaipur, where he and his accessories had halted for a while and picked up three women escorts, before setting off towards Gujarat, unaware that police were hot on their heels.

They septet drove till Mumbai, and on Saturday night, checked into the Metro Airport. Gadoli took a room on the ground floor, while his two friends were on the floor above.

Many hours later, the Haryana police finally reached the MIDC area, near Andheri, after having learned of Gadoli’s hideout. Without wasting time, they decide to do a quick recce before surprising him.

Around 11 in the morning, they entered the hotel and confirmed the trio’s presence. They then asked the hotel staff to stay clear of Gadoli’s room, and told the room service to ring the bell to his room. “We were not sure how armed and ready the accused were. While Gadoli was on the ground floor, two of his associates were on the first. There were three women, two of them foreigners, in a third room,” said a police officer from Haryana.

As Gadoli opened the door, the cops, lying in wait outside, barged in. Seeing that he was cornered, the gangster pulled out his countrymade revolver and fired at the cops. A bullet hit constable Param Jeet’s shoulder, and he was immediately pulled out to safety by the team. Shots were fired from both sides. In between, the police officers tried to reason with the gangster, asking him to surrender, but he refused to be cowed.

Instead, he made a dash for the door, and was in the process of bolting outside, when a constable flung himself on the gangster, struggling to pin him down. But the gangster put up a fight, and a scuffle ensued. Gadoli hit the constable on his head and shived him off, injuring him. But this was enough of a window of opportunity for the others. They seized the chance to take took aim at their quarry and fired. One of the many bullets showered found its way to Gadoli’s chest, another lodged itself in his foot, flattening him. As he collapsed to the ground, the cops finally caught hold of him.

His two collaborators were still there, holed up in the hotel. But taking them into custody proved easy for the cops for two reasons: the duo did not possess any weapon; and unwilling to meet the same fate as their boss’s, they were more than keen to surrender.

While Gadoli was rushed to hospital, where he succumbed to the gunshots, the duo was interrogated. They revealed to the police that Gadoli, who had been fleeing for two years now, was confident that he’d never be caught by the cops. They said they were unaware that he had a weapon on him, since they were on a holiday in Mumbai and had decided not to bring any firearms.

CRIMES BY THE DOZEN

Gurgaon police commissioner Navdeep Singh Virk said, “Gadoli had 36 cases — of murder, attempt to murder, dacoity, extortion and threat — in his name. He wanted to make a name for himself by starting a gang of his own and had spread his activities to Mumbai. Two years ago, he was convicted and got a life imprisonment sentence, but he had escaped from police custody.”

The Haryana cops may be content with their handiwork, having captured the runaway gangster after all, but the Mumbai police are not. Officials here claim their Gurgaon counterparts had not intimated them of their presence in the city, and are upset at being taken by surprise.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Vinayak Deshmukh (Zone X) said, “They said they had called up the control room but the local police station was not aware of this. We have taken the other two accused in the custody and are interrogating them.”

The hotel staff told the police that Gadoli checked in under the assumed name of Rishab Singh. At first, they had asked the Crime Branch sleuths to call in the local police and then approach the accused. But they were told them that it was a Haryana police operation and the Mumbai police would be looped in after the arrests.