It began as a movie-style heist allegedly involving 14 robbers, but ended with two “encounter” killings and a major political slugfest that has inflamed the festering ‘Thakur versus Yadav’ debate in Uttar Pradesh. On August 28, a group of armed men robbed Bharat Jewellers in Sultanpur’s Thatheri bazar, one of the busiest markets in town. According to police, jewellery worth `1.5 crore had been stolen in the robbery, which was caught on CCTV. So far, police have arrested nine people — the alleged masterminds Vinay Shukla (34) and Vipin Singh (38), along with Vipin’s brother Vivek (34), Arvind Yadav alias ‘Fauji’ (47), Sachin Singh (27), Tribhuvan Kori (25), Pushpendra Singh (32), Ajay Yadav alias ‘DM’ (21), and Durgesh Pratap Singh (35). Of these, four — Sachin, Tribhuvan, Pushpendra and Ajay — were arrested after being shot in the leg while allegedly resisting arrest. Two people, Anuj Pratap Singh (22) and Mangesh Yadav (22), have been killed in separate “encounters” while three — Furqan (23), Arbaz Khan (22), Ankit Yadav alias ‘Shekhar’ (26) — are absconding. The robbery and its aftermath led to a major political row in the state between the BJP government and the Opposition, with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav saying hours after Mangesh Yadav’s killing that the encounter was “fake” and that he was killed “because of his caste”. “It seems that the ruling party had deep connections with the people involved in the Sultanpur robbery. That is why, before the fake encounter, the ‘main accused’ was contacted and made to surrender and his other associates were shot only on the legs for show, and the killing was done on the basis of ‘caste’,” Akhilesh had said in a September 5 post on X. The gang had a socially diverse mix, comprising six upper caste Thakurs, one Brahmin, four Yadavs (OBC), two Muslims and one Dalit. According to Sultanpur Kotwali SHO Narad Muni Singh, the alleged masterminds Vipin Singh and Vinay Shukla are both “petty criminals” who met in a UP jail in 2017. “They would talk to people in jail to assess their moral values and stomach for crime,” Singh, the investigating officer in the case, says. In 2023, the two of them allegedly stitched up a gang comprising Arbaz Khan, Anuj Pratap Singh Thakur, and Furkan, all three of whom went to school together in Amethi. The gang allegedly committed its first bank robbery in Vanj village in Surat, and were arrested a week later, being released on bail only in May this year. It was during this time that the gang planned the Sultanpur robbery to “set them for life”, an officer in UP Police says. According to Sultanpur SP Somen Barma, after being released from jail, Vipin Singh and Vinay Shukla recruited Arvind Yadav alias ‘Fauji’, Ajay Yadav alias ‘DM’, and Mangesh Yadav. A history sheeter from Azamgarh, ‘Fauji’ allegedly was an old acquaintance of Vipin and was the ringleader of a gang committing petty crimes and comprising the other two. Ten days before the heist, Vipin met Arvind, Ajay, and Mangesh to plan. By their second meeting on August 16, Vipin’s brother Vivek Singh, cousins Sachin and Pushpendra and their acquaintance Tribhuvan, as well as Durgesh, were recruited. According to the police, the suspects recceed another jewellery store before choosing Bharat Jewellers, a quaint store surrounded by shops selling clothes and other jewellers. The heist was allegedly planned down to the last detail – while Ankit, Arbaz, Mangesh, Furqan, and Anuj were to commit the robbery, Sachin, Pushpendra and Tribhuvan were to wait in an SUV a km away. Meanwhile, the others were to be stationed nearby as backup. On August 28, it all went to plan. According to officer Narad Muni Singh, the masked men entered the shop with pistols at 12:40 pm. Inside the shop were its owner Bharatji Soni (67), his son Sumit Soni (35), and three customers. The gang quickly filled up bags with 2.5 kg gold, 50 kg silver, and Rs 3 lakh in cash and used the three motorcycles procured for the purpose to race out of there. According to Sumit, the loot was so big “they had to drag the bags”. But the suspects allegedly made one mistake – while escaping, they accidentally dropped a jewellery pouch snatched from a customer. “It helped us narrow down their escape route. Through CCTVs, we knew they had gone towards Amethi,” one officer said. When investigators began to make a list of known criminals in the area, one name stood out – Vipin Singh. On August 29, the day after the heist, Vipin surrendered in a Rae Bareli court in connection with another case. Days later, the Pushpendra, Tribhuvan and Sachin Singh were arrested following an “encounter”. The aftermath On September 5, soon after UP Police’s Special Task Force (STF) announced Mangesh Yadav was killed in a police encounter, Opposition leader Akhilesh Yadav claimed the suspect was killed “because of his caste” — implying that many Thakur-caste suspects had been left unharmed. Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi alleged that “the encounter had once again proved that BJP doesn’t believe in the rule of law”. But the police denied the allegations claiming that its action was “completely impartial and based on evidence”. Then, on September 23, Anuj Pratap Singh, a Thakur from Janapur village in Amethi district, was killed in another “encounter” in Unnao after he allegedly resisted arrest. At Sultanpur, a police officer denies caste angles to either incident. “Do you think criminals look at the caste of a person before recruiting them? No. All they look for is desperation and courage to commit crime,” he said. But for the families left behind, these justifications mean little. At Angraura village in Jaunpur, Mangesh’s father Rakesh (50) is sitting in his home next to a photo of his son. According to Rakesh, a truck driver who works in Gujarat’s Ankleshwar, his son was picked up by the police on September 3. Soon after, the family heard of his death. “Sometimes, when I wake up, I forget that my son is dead. Lagta hai abhi usko kuch bataoonga (I feel like I’ll say something to him),” he says. More than 200 km away at Amethi’s Janapur village, the house of Anuj, a 22-year-old BA graduate, is still steeped in grief. Soon after his son was killed, Anuj’s father Dharam Raj Singh (48) had blamed SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, saying his “wish had been fulfilled”. “Mera beta rajneeti ka shikar ho gaya (My son was a victim of politics),” Dharam, a small farmer with 4.5 bighas of land, says now, sitting in his courtyard surrounded with his daughters Anusha Singh (21) and Ayush Singh (16). “I’m not saying he was right or wrong, but he deserved to live. He deserved to be punished by a court, not by some policemen who decided to kill him after being sure that he robbed a shop.” At Ashapur Ruru village some 10 km from Anuj’s house stands the under-construction house of Arbaaz, who’s currently absconding. The house, which is in the middle of a field, is open but despite repeated knocks, no one answers. A passerby stops his bicycle, and says: “The family is now scattered. The police keep coming asking about Arbaaz. They fear their son will be killed in an encounter too,” he says, then pedals away without giving his name. A peek inside the house shows a fridge, some utensils, and clothes lying around. One neighbour comes out of his house next door to investigate. Asked where the family is, he says: “Un bartano se poochiye Arbaaz kahaan hai. Shayad woh bata de (Ask the utensils where they are. Maybe they'll tell you”, he yells, before walking back into his house and firmly closing the door behind him.
