An interstate shooter has been arrested by the Uttarakhand Special Task Force for the 2020 murder of Councillor Prakash Singh Dhami, shedding light on political rivalries and turf wars.
Key Points
- Rinku Sharma, an interstate shooter, was arrested for the 2020 murder of BJP-backed Councillor Prakash Singh Dhami in Udham Singh Nagar.
- The murder was allegedly motivated by political rivalry and a turf war for regional dominance, with professional shooters hired for the assassination.
- Sharma, who had a reward of Rs 25,000 on his head, had been evading police since the murder and has a history of criminal cases across multiple states.
- The arrest was made possible through a joint operation by the Uttarakhand STF and local police, acting on intelligence inputs and surveillance.
- The arrest is part of 'Operation Prahar', an initiative by the Uttarakhand police to apprehend wanted criminals involved in serious crimes.
The Uttarakhand Special Task Force on Wednesday arrested accused shooter Rinku Sharma alias 'Pandit', for his alleged involvement in the murder of Councillor Prakash Singh Dhami six years ago in the Udham Singh Nagar district, officials said.
They said he was carrying a reward of Rs 25,000.
Special Task Force (STF) SSP Ajay Singh said that acting swiftly on a tip-off received early in the morning from an informer regarding the accused shooter's presence in Rudrapur -- the headquarters of Udham Singh Nagar district -- a joint team of the STF and local police cordoned off the area and launched a search operation, leading to the arrest of Pandit (32).
He said Pandit, a native of the Morena district in Madhya Pradesh, is an interstate professional shooter who had been absconding since the councillor's murder in 2020.
The SSP further explained that Dhami, a BJP-backed councillor from a ward in Rudrapur, was shot dead in broad daylight outside his residence on October 12, 2020.
Investigation Details
Investigation revealed that the murder was the result of a political rivalry and a turf war for regional dominance, according to officials, who added that professional shooters from Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh were allegedly hired for a sum of approximately Rs 4 lakh to carry out the assassination.
In connection with this case, the police had registered a case against seven accused individuals under the Gangster Act. While six of the accused were subsequently arrested, Pandit managed to evade the police for a prolonged period by constantly changing his hideouts.
The SSP said the STF devised a specific strategy to apprehend the absconding accused, which involved continuously analysing intelligence inputs received regarding his whereabouts. He added that an STF team had been maintaining constant surveillance on the accused's activities for nearly a month prior to his arrest.
Accused's Criminal History
He further disclosed that the arrested accused has approximately a dozen criminal cases against him across Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, involving charges such as murder, attempted murder, robbery, dacoity, extortion, and violations under the Gangster Act.
Singh stated that operations will continue unabated under 'Operation Prahar', an initiative launched by the state police to apprehend wanted and absconding criminals involved in heinous crimes who carry bounties on their heads.
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