Mystery, again, shrouds, the arrest and ‘death’ of prized criminal Amit, alias Saddam, alias Gabbar after Ghaziabad Police chief Dharmendra Yadav announced to the media that the dreaded criminal had succumbed to his gunshot wounds in Yashoda Hospital on Tuesday morning at 11.00 am. But till Tuesday evening, the hospital administration did not confirm his death. The ICU attendant of the hospital at 1.00 pm told this correspondent that the criminal was in a critical condition and was on ventilator.
However, it was only later in the evening when officials revealed that Saddam died in the hospital at 3 pm. The SSP was heard announcing that the autopsy would also be conducted the same day but till Tuesday evening, no information could be gathered whether the criminal was dead or alive.
Earlier a controversy was stoked over the arrest of the rewarded criminal in an ‘encounter’ in Ghaziabad on Friday after the SSP Ghaziabad claimed that the criminal was arrested in an encounter, which was contradicted by Meerut range DIG K Satyanarayana. The police encounter drama contains several suspicious versions citing discrepancies in the police record and Press release. Sonu, the cousin who had been shown arrested during encounter was not mentioned in any communiqué till three days. But suddenly appeared three days later.
The DIG of Police at Meerut K Satyanarayana told this correspondent that the Ghaziabad police took an ailing criminal into custody while undergoing treatment in a local hospital. The DIG further said Amit, alias Saddam, alias Gabbar, a resident of Gangrauli in Baghpat district, who carried a reward of Rs1 lakh on his head was undergoing treatment at Yashoda Hospital in Ghaziabad. On a tip-off Ghaziabad Police verified his presence and took him into custody.