|
|
Lakhan Singh
|
Raid teams have been formed, suspension orders issued and acquaintances grilled, but sharpshooter Lakhan Singh remains slippery as an eel even 24 hours after his dramatic escape from the Tupudana police outpost in Ranchi on Saturday morning.
Lakhan (35) is a prime accused in the 2009 murder of real estate financier Rajkumar Dhanuka. He is also wanted in a dozen other cases of murder and extortion.
After playing years of hide-and-seek with police, he was finally arrested from Hatia on Friday, but only to scale a 7ft boundary wall and flee before being produced in court.
According to sources, as many as 15 constables were present at the police outpost when Lakhan made good his escape during showertime.
Police will now lodge an FIR under Section 224 (resistance or obstruction by a person to his lawful apprehension) of the IPC against him. They are also likely to book his brother, Genda Singh, and a friend called Praveen for facilitating the breakout.
“We are in the process of lodging an FIR against them. Policemen who were on duty have been suspended for dereliction. We have floated special teams to arrest Lakhan,” Ranchi SP Vipul Shukla said.
For now, police have interrogated Lakhan’s father, Kalicharn Singh, and seized an SUV from his residence at Dasmile in Tupudana.
Meanwhile, Raj Bhavan has sought a report from new DGP Rajeev Kumar on the escape. “It may be a case of lax policing or a big conspiracy. We need to know the truth,” a Raj Bhavan official said.
|
