UP highway robberies: Big fish elude police

What began as an investigation of a double murder has spiralled into an investigation of several hundred murders and that too over a period of three years.

What began as an investigation of a double murder has spiralled into an investigation of several hundred murders and that too over a period of three years. And it has also brought out into the open the shocking lawlessness on Uttar Pradesh8217;s highways.

The Meerut police is now trying to find the families of several hundred other victims who Salim Qureishi of Bahraich and his gang may have murdered on the roads at night. Salim was arrested on Thursday by the Meerut police in connection with the murder of medical representative Rajiv Kumar and junior engineer Ashok Sharma. Both men were travelling from Bulandshahr to Meerut on the night of February 14. Their bodies were discovered the next day in Kharkoda village, 7 km from here. Both had been robbed of all valuables, including cellphones, purse and clothes.

Meerut police officials said the two murders seemed interconnected and when they tracked the cellphones of the victims, they caught Salim. What sent chills down all spines were Salim8217;s revelations of an organised syndicate of highway robbers whose ruthlessness and scale of operations were unprecedented.

Salim revealed that his gang was led by Ali Ahmed, son of Jumman Qureisha and a resident of Chilwariya village in Bahraich, near the Bhopal border. Ahmed, on whom the police had already declared a reward has around 30 to 40 members under his command. Police officials said the gang operated in three groups across entire Uttar Pradesh and even ventured into Haryana at times. The modus operandi was simple. Gang members would hire big cars like a Tata Sumo and park them near railway stations or bus stands. They preyed upon late night travellers who were alone. While one of the gang members would drive the vehicle, the others posed as passengers.

The unsuspecting victim would be made to sit in the middle. Once the car hit a lonely stretch, the gang members would kill and rob the victim. 8220;Salim admitted being part of the gang that committed the three murders on February 14. He admitted to two more murders in Faizabad and Basti. We have recovered the vehicle in which the murders were committed. It was hired for Rs 450 a day from Lucknow,8221; said a police official.

Salim said the gang did not even spare policemen and estimated that 30 to 40 of them had been murdered in the same manner. The gang leader took pleasure in murdering policemen, Salim added.

Meanwhile, the state police still have to arrest the big fishes. Salim reportedly mentioned Ejaz Salaru, Dhomal, Dablu and Raja as his accomplices in the Meerut murders. Meerut police said teams had been formed to hunt down the other members of the gang.

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Apart from that the police also needs to address the larger problem of safety on highways. Officials admitted that the minimal night patrolling that was done was largely ineffective.