5000 cops, 20 teams get their man, finally

But despite Dadwal8217;s proud pronouncement in the packed media conference 8212; 8220;Delhi Police means business8221; 8212; the reality is the 30-year-old kept some 5,000 policemen on their toes for over two months. Around 100 police officials of various ranks were on duty almost round-the-clock to gather information about him.

When he was finally traced through an input in a godown at Jaitpur village, a team of 35 police officers, including six inspectors, zeroed in on 8216;Delhi8217;s Most Wanted8217;. Only, the police perhaps had no idea Bunty kept all his ammunition under the pillow while asleep.

After coming out of jail recently, he shot four persons from June 10 to July 11. This led police to form as many as 20 teams to arrest the gang, besides announcing a bounty of Rs 50,000 each on Bunty and his associates8217; heads. Besides South district police, Special Cell, Crime Branch all units, Special Branch and Special Staff of all 10 districts were working to get information about the gang and its activities.

The South district police teams were assigned separate tasks: raiding, gathering local intelligence, interception, keeping watch on jails, criminals getting bail in Delhi, UP and Haryana, eye on Bunty8217;s associates in and outside jail, and keeping a check on guesthouses in NCR. These 20 teams also included squads that pasted posters at railway stations and bus stands and maintained a lookout for Bunty at public places, such as banks, and his past hideouts.

With the police hot on his trails for the past two months, Bunty and Rajesh, among other gang members, first hid in Noida June 20 to July 17 and later went to Panipat July 19 to August 4. The address was a farmhouse in Kaithal Road, Haryana, thereafter, before they shifted base to the Badarpur village.