Bajrangi aide may avenge killing, feel cops

State police agencies believe that dreaded gangster of west UP Sanjeev Maheshwari alias Jeeva, co-accused in BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai murder and who is presently lodged in Mainpuri jail, may strike to avenge Bajrangi’s killing inside Baghpat jail on July 9.

Bajrangi was shot dead by another west UP gangster Sunil Rathi, a murder convict lodged in Baghpat jail. The killing took place when Bajrangi was shifted from Jhansi to Baghpat jail for his appearance in a local court in an extortion case. Initial probe hints that Bajrangi’s rival gangsters of east UP had hired Rathi to execute the killing. 

“Jeeva, who in judicial custody since his arrest by Delhi police in May 2006, was an aide of Bajrangi and the most potential candidate to take over the gang’s command. He could retaliate to win confidence of the other members of the gang,” said a senior IPS official privy to the investigation. 

He said a political sympathiser of Bajrangi, who is also in jail and apprehends that he could be their next target, may also use Jeeva and his gang to counter the rival gangs. He said Jeeva had wide nexus of criminals in west as well as east Uttar Pradesh despite being in jail for over 12 years now and had been involved in multiple killings in the past on behest of Bajrangi’s political sympathiser. 

The official said UP Special Task Force (STF) sleuths had been asked to keep an eye on the movement of Jeeva’s henchmen, who are likely to meet at Bajrangi’s native place in Pure Dayal village in Jaunpur during a remembrance prayer to be held on Friday. 

He said a list of henchmen and sympathisers of Jeeva and Bajrangi had been prepared and different police teams allotted task to track their movements.

He said cops in civvies had been deployed near his native place for this purpose. “Moreover, the officials of Mainpuri jail have also been alerted to enhance Jeeva’s security and keep close eye on people visiting him in jail or during court appearances in UP or outside the state,” he said. 

Jeeva and Bajrangi along with seven others had allegedly executed the sensational killing of BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai on behest of jailed Mafioso turned MLA Mukhtar Ansari and his brother Afzal Ansari, according to the charge sheet filed by Central Bureau of Investigation. 

Three of the team members, Sanjeev Maheshwari, Rakesh Pandey and Ramu Mallah, were life convicts and allegedly committed the killing after obtaining bail in other criminal cases pending against them. 

 Rai and his six supporters were killed when Bajrangi and his gang had allegedly opened indiscriminate firing on his motorcade in Mahmoodabad area of Ghazipur district on November 29, 2005.