Haryana gangster arrested in Sandeep Gadoli fake encounter case

Mumbai, October 23

A 41-year-old man from Haryana, allegedly the main conspirator in the 2016 ‘fake’ encounter of Haryana gangster Sandeep Gadoli, has been arrested, the Mumbai Police said on Wednesday.

Virendra Kumar alias Binder Gujjar was arrested by Unit 10 of the Mumbai Crime Branch on Tuesday, an official said.

It is alleged that Gujjar, who has serious offences such as murder, extortion and kidnapping registered against him, was behind the fake encounter of Gadoli, a rival gangster.

Gujjar was nabbed by a crime branch team near Bhondsi prison in Gurugram, Haryana soon after his release in another case, said Akbar Pathan, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime).

A court here remanded him in police custody till October 30, he added.

Sandeep Gadoli was killed in an ‘encounter’ by a Haryana Police team at Airport Hotel in Andheri area here on February 7, 2016.

However, probe by Mumbai Police revealed that he had been lured into a trap with the help of his girlfriend Divya Pahuja and killed in a fake encounter, said senior police inspector Sunil Mane of the crime branch.

The Mumbai Police had earlier arrested Police Sub Inspector Praduman Yadav and four other Haryana Police personnel along with Pahuja and her mother in the case.

Gujjar and Gadoli ran rival gangs, and Gujjar conspired with Haryana Police officials to eliminate Gadoli, Mane said.

Gujjar was in prison at the time of encounter, but he hatched the conspiracy with the help of his brother Manoj and roped in Divya Pahuja as honey trap, according to Mumbai Police.

Pahuja was earlier in relationship with Manoj.

In February 2016, when Gadoli was staying at the Mumbai hotel, Pahuja told him she was coming to meet him.

On the way, she posted her pictures along with locations on a social media site. She also stayed in contact with her mother during the journey.

The Haryana Police team traced the location from Pahuja’s social media updates and allegedly shot Gadoli dead in his hotel room.

Manoj Gujjar is still wanted in the case, the crime branch official said. — PTI