Rs 1.5-crore heist, 2 dead men: UP gang at centre of Yadav vs Thakur debate

So far, constabulary person arrested 9 radical — the alleged masterminds Vinay Shukla (34) and Vipin Singh (38), on with Vipin’s member Vivek (34), Arvind Yadav alias ‘Fauji’ (47), Sachin Singh (27), Tribhuvan Kori (25), Pushpendra Singh (32), Ajay Yadav alias ‘DM’ (21), and Durgesh Pratap Singh (35). Of these, 4 — Sachin, Tribhuvan, Pushpendra and Ajay — were arrested aft being changeable successful the limb portion allegedly resisting arrest.

Two people, Anuj Pratap Singh (22) and Mangesh Yadav (22), person been killed successful abstracted “encounters” portion 3 — Furqan (23), Arbaz Khan (22), Ankit Yadav alias ‘Shekhar’ (26) — are absconding.

The robbery and its aftermath led to a large governmental enactment successful the authorities betwixt the BJP authorities and the Opposition, with Samajwadi Party main Akhilesh Yadav saying hours aft Mangesh Yadav’s sidesplitting that the brushwood was “fake” and that helium was killed “because of his caste”.

The jewellery store successful Sultanpur. (Express photograph by Vishal Srivastava)

“It seems that the ruling enactment had heavy connections with the radical progressive successful the Sultanpur robbery. That is why, earlier the fake encounter, the ‘main accused’ was contacted and made to surrender and his different associates were changeable lone connected the legs for show, and the sidesplitting was done connected the ground of ‘caste’,” Akhilesh had said successful a September 5 station connected X.

The pack had a socially divers mix, comprising six precocious caste Thakurs, 1 Brahmin, 4 Yadavs (OBC), 2 Muslims and 1 Dalit.

According to Sultanpur Kotwali SHO Narad Muni Singh, the alleged masterminds Vipin Singh and Vinay Shukla are some “petty criminals” who met successful a UP jailhouse successful 2017.

“They would speech to radical successful jailhouse to measure their motivation values and tummy for crime,” Singh, the investigating serviceman successful the case, says.

In 2023, the 2 of them allegedly stitched up a pack comprising Arbaz Khan, Anuj Pratap Singh Thakur, and Furkan, each 3 of whom went to schoolhouse unneurotic successful Amethi. The pack allegedly committed its archetypal slope robbery successful Vanj colony successful Surat, and were arrested a week later, being released connected bail lone successful May this year.

It was during this clip that the pack planned the Sultanpur robbery to “set them for life”, an serviceman successful UP Police says.

According to Sultanpur SP Somen Barma, aft being released from jail, Vipin Singh and Vinay Shukla recruited Arvind Yadav alias ‘Fauji’, Ajay Yadav alias ‘DM’, and Mangesh Yadav. A past sheeter from Azamgarh, ‘Fauji’ allegedly was an aged acquaintance of Vipin and was the ringleader of a pack committing petty crimes and comprising the different two.

Ten days earlier the heist, Vipin met Arvind, Ajay, and Mangesh to plan. By their 2nd gathering connected August 16, Vipin’s member Vivek Singh, cousins Sachin and Pushpendra and their acquaintance Tribhuvan, arsenic good arsenic Durgesh, were recruited.

According to the police, the suspects recceed different jewellery store earlier choosing Bharat Jewellers, a store surrounded by shops selling apparel and different jewellers.

The heist was allegedly planned down to the past item — portion Ankit, Arbaz, Mangesh, Furqan, and Anuj were to perpetrate the robbery, Sachin, Pushpendra and Tribhuvan were to hold successful an SUV a km away. Meanwhile, the others were to beryllium stationed adjacent arsenic backup.

On August 28, it each went to plan. According to serviceman Narad Muni Singh, the masked men entered the store with pistols astatine 12:40 pm. Inside the store were its proprietor Bharatji Soni (67), his lad Sumit Soni (35), and 3 customers.

The pack rapidly filled up bags with 2.5 kg gold, 50 kg silver, and `3 lakh successful currency and utilized the 3 motorcycles procured for the intent to contention retired of there. According to Sumit, the loot was truthful large “they had to resistance the bags”.

But the suspects allegedly made 1 mistake — portion escaping, they accidentally dropped a jewellery pouch snatched from a customer. “It helped america constrictive down their flight route. Through CCTVs, we knew they had gone towards Amethi,” 1 serviceman said.

When investigators began to marque a database of known criminals successful the area, 1 sanction stood retired — Vipin Singh.

On August 29, the time aft the heist, Vipin surrendered successful a Rae Bareli tribunal successful transportation with different case. Days later, the Pushpendra, Tribhuvan and Sachin Singh were arrested pursuing an “encounter”.

The aftermath

On September 5, soon aft UP Police’s Special Task Force (STF) announced Mangesh Yadav was killed successful a constabulary encounter, Opposition person Akhilesh Yadav claimed the fishy was killed “because of his caste” — implying that galore Thakur-caste suspects had been near unharmed. Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi alleged that “the brushwood had erstwhile again proved that BJP doesn’t judge successful the regularisation of law”.

But the constabulary denied the allegations claiming that its enactment was “completely impartial and based connected evidence”.

Then, connected September 23, Anuj Pratap Singh, a Thakur from Janapur colony successful Amethi district, was killed successful different “encounter” successful Unnao aft helium allegedly resisted arrest.

At Sultanpur, a constabulary serviceman denies caste angles to either incident.

“Do you deliberation criminals look astatine the caste of a idiosyncratic earlier recruiting them? No. All they look for is desperation and courageousness to perpetrate crime,” helium said.

But for the families near behind, these justifications mean little. At Angraura colony successful Jaunpur, Mangesh’s begetter Rakesh (50) is sitting successful his location adjacent to a photograph of his son. According to Rakesh, a motortruck operator who works successful Gujarat’s Ankleshwar, his lad was picked up by the constabulary connected September 3. Soon after, the household heard of his death.

“Sometimes, erstwhile I aftermath up, I hide that my lad is dead. Lagta hai abhi usko kuch bataoonga (I consciousness similar I’ll accidental thing to him),” helium says.

More than 200 km distant astatine Amethi’s Janapur village, the location of Anuj, a 22-year-old BA graduate, is inactive steeped successful grief. Soon aft his lad was killed, Anuj’s begetter Dharam Raj Singh (48) had blamed SP main Akhilesh Yadav, saying his “wish had been fulfilled”.

“Mera beta rajneeti ka shikar ho gaya (My lad was a unfortunate of politics),” Dharam, a tiny husbandman with 4.5 bighas of land, says now, sitting successful his courtyard surrounded with his daughters Anusha Singh (21) and Ayush Singh (16). “I’m not saying helium was close oregon wrong, but helium deserved to live. He deserved to beryllium punished by a court, not by immoderate policemen who decided to termination him aft being definite that helium robbed a shop.”

At Ashapur Ruru colony immoderate 10 km from Anuj’s location stands the under-construction location of Arbaaz, who’s presently absconding. The house, which is successful the mediate of a field, is unfastened but contempt repeated knocks, nary 1 answers.

A passerby stops his bicycle, and says: “The household is present scattered. The constabulary support coming asking astir Arbaaz. They fearfulness their lad volition beryllium killed successful an brushwood too,” helium says, past pedals distant without giving his name.

A peek wrong the location shows a fridge, immoderate utensils, and apparel lying around. One neighbour comes retired of his location adjacent doorway to investigate. Asked wherever the household is, helium says: “Un bartano se poochiye Arbaaz kahaan hai. Shayad woh bata de (Ask the utensils wherever they are. Maybe they’ll archer you”, helium yells, earlier walking backmost into his location and firmly closing the doorway down him.