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Munna Bajrangi murder | Pistol used in crime found in drain, say police

10 used cartridges, 2 magazines and 22 live cartridges recovered too; three probes — departmental, magisterial and judicial — are going on in the matter

Munna Bajrangi murder | Pistol used in crime found in drain, say police

Munna Bajrangi was arrested in October 2009.

The pistol used by alleged accused Sunil Rathi to kill gangster Prem Prakash Singh alias Munna Bajrangi inside Baghpat jail in Uttar Pradesh on Monday morning has been found. Police said the murder weapon was recovered from a drain.

“As many as 10 used cartridges, 2 magazines and 22 live cartridges have also been recovered,” said Additional Director General (Law and Order) Anand Kumar.

Hours before 51-year-old was to be produced in a local court in a case of extortion, mafia don Munna Bajrangi was allegedly shot dead by another inmate Sunil Rathi, also a gangster. He had been brought to Baghpat from Jhansi jail on Saturday night.

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READ | Munna Bajrangi murder: Kin allege conspiracy 

Sunil Rathi had been in Baghpat Jail since July 31 last year, said the police. Rathi has been arrested and his interrogation is on. According to the police, ten empty shells of a .762 bore weapon and some live cartridges were recovered from inside the district jail.

Bajrangi was listed as an accused in 40 criminal cases, including those of murder and extortion.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered a probe, terming the incident a “serious” matter.

READ | Week after wife said she feared murder plot, gangster Munna Bajrangi shot dead in Baghpat jail

Speaking to reporters, Deputy Inspector General (Law and Order) Praveen Kumar said, “Three probes – one by jail authorities, another a magisterial inquiry besides a judicial inquiry – are going on in the matter.”

He said Bajrangi had been transferred from Jhansi to Baghpat jail with full security. The gangster was facing a case of extortion as he had allegedly demanded money from former BSP MLA Lokesh Dixit in 2017.

Bajrangi was kept in a solitary cell in the Baghpat jail.

On Monday, Bajrangi’s brother-in-law and lawyer Vikas Srivastava alleged involvement of police officials in the conspiracy and demanded a fair inquiry.

Srivastava had accompanied Bajrangi in the ambulance that brought him to Baghpat jail from Jhansi on Sunday night. He said Bajrangi was not well and was undergoing treatment under supervision of doctors at AIIMS. In view of his illness, his hearings in different cases of Banaras and Delhi were done through video conferencing, and he had requested for a similar arrangement for the Baghpat case too. “But officials were adamant on taking him to Baghpat,” said Srivastava, adding that the DIG (Jails) camped for two days in Jhansi to ensure Bajrangi was sent to Baghpat.

He also claimed that Bajrangi was falsely implicated in the case of demanding extortion money from former BSP MLA Lokesh Dixit and claimed that the MLA didn’t even mention the name of Bajrangi in his complaint to the police. He also ridiculed the police theory of murder and said shooters had been called from outside to execute the murder.

Meanwhile, Lokesh Dixit has demanded security after Bajrangi’s murder. He said CM Yogi should provide him security cover because he feared Bajrangi’s supporters and gang members might target him now.

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