Jagran correspondent, Bulandshahr. Kotwali Dehat and SWAT police team have arrested three people including former village head and BJP leader in the case of looting two lakh rupees from a scrap dealer by beating him and threatening to kill him. The arrested accused, posing as the SOG team of the police, had carried out the incident of looting the money by threatening to buy the stolen scrap.
Police have recovered the looted cash, pistol-cartridges and the car used in the incident from the possession of the accused. Superintendent of Police, Nagar Shankar Prasad and Assistant Superintendent of Police and CO, Nagar Rijul Kumar said that while filing the report at Kotwali Dehat on Saturday, scrap trader Shahzad son of Khurshid, resident of New Shalimar Garden, Delhi, said that Sajid son of Azad, Mohalla of Jahangirabad is his acquaintance, Sajid told him on phone on December 11 about selling aluminum scrap.
On December 12, Shahzad reached Bulandshahr, from where Sajid took him to a warehouse located in Hasanpur village of Nai Mandi area, the reporting police post. Where the deal for about 15 quintals of scrap was finalized at the rate of Rs 175 per kg. On December 13, Shahzad along with his acquaintances Shailendra Singh and Umesh reached Hasanpur to collect scrap in a Mahindra car.
It is alleged that the gate was closed as soon as the vehicle was taken inside the warehouse. After some time, a Bolero car arrived and three youths alighted from it, posing as members of the special police team, and said that they were buying stolen scrap and by threatening to assault and send them to jail, they forcibly looted Rs 1.98 lakh and later left the accused Shahzad in the car at his residence located near Kali Nadi bridge at Vikash Pratham.
The Superintendent of Police said that during the investigation, the names of former head of Hirapur village and BJP leader Ravindra Lodhi son of Rajveer Singh, Manoj son of Chaman Singh and Sajid came to light. On Saturday night at around 11 pm, Kotwali and SWAT police team arrested Ravindra Lodhi, Manoj Kumar and Sajid from near Utrawali gate during checking on the information of informer.
Police have recovered cash worth Rs 1.98 lakh, the victim's mobile phone, two pistol cartridges and the car used in the incident from the possession of the accused. Superintendent of Police said that there are 11 criminal cases registered against the arrested accused Sajid, five against Ravindra Lodhi and one against Manoj.
All three accused have been sent to judicial custody. Meanwhile, BJP Mandal President Rajendra Sharma alias Billu Pandit said that Ravindra Lodhi was the Shakti Kendra convenor of Agrasen Mandal, who is suspended for six years after getting involved in anti-party activities and wrongdoing.