Jhansi/Kanpur: Jhansi Police has arrested the alleged mastermind of Nazool land-grabbing, Harendra Masih, after months of manhunting, officials said.
Masih had a bounty of one lakh on his head in the case and was accused of land grabbing worth Rs. 1000 crore in Kanpur.
Navabad Police Station In-charge Jitendra Singh said that the accused was nabbed near a railway station in the Navabad area with a fake ID and a bike with a fake number plate.
He said the accused was trying to escape, during which he was surrounded by police and caught.
“We were trying to arrest him for about 3 months, but we could not trace him as he had stopped using mobile phones to escape the police surveillance. This caused more difficulty for us to trace his location. Later, we announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh for his arrest,” Singh said.
On Sunday, around 11:40 PM, the surveillance team of the Jhansi Police got a tip-off about Masih’s presence, after which they set a trap and arrested him near Gandhi Chowk of the railway station, officials said.
After his arrest, Kanpur Police rushed a team to Jhansi. It is speculated that the accused can be brought to Kanpur on Monday for investigation in the land-grabbing case.
19 Cases Against Harendra Masih
Police said a total of 19 cases have been registered against Masih in Kanpur, Fatehpur, and Jhansi districts.
He was also wanted in the Nazul land grab worth Rs 1000 crore located in the Civil Lines of Kanpur.
Masih’s name was first linked to the case on July 28, when the top officers of the Kanpur Police Commissionerate arrested former president of Kanpur Press Club Avneesh Dixit in the case.
Deputy Commission Of Police (DCP) East SK Singh said that the police have achieved a major success in the case as they sent the mastermind Masih, main accused Avneesh Dixit, and many other accused to jail.
How Land Grab Was Exposed
On 28 July, a dispute suddenly started between two parties on the land right in front of Harvard School in the Civil Lines of Kanpur.
Dixit reached there and clashed with the police, leading to his arrest by the Kotwali police late. Later, it was revealed that Dixit and many other accused were trying to grab the land of Mary and Maryman Compound.
DCP Singh had said that Masih, a resident of Jhansi, had also conspired to capture that land.
Police’s 3200-page Chargesheet
After the investigation, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the police filed a 3200-page chargesheet in the court in which Masih's name appeared as the mastermind while Dixit was made the main accused.
The charge sheet is based on the activities on the day of the clash, call records, and other evidence, including the statements of the accused Sandeep Shukla.
A case was registered against 20 unknown people and 13 named ones, while more than five accused have been arrested and sent to jail.
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