Dreaded dacoit Ramgopal aka Goppa aka Bhola unleashed terror in Chitrakoot when he and his gang kidnapped two local residents last Monday. Surprisingly, the police who claimed to have located the gang and engaged in cross-firing for several hours on Wednesday evening failed rescue the kidnapees.
Now heavy police force has been moved and a combing operation has been started to arrest the dacoits and rescue the victims which has proved futile so far.
last Monday afternoon, Sandeep (28) of Bahelpurwa and Mithlesh (35) from Pahadi area in Chitrakoot district were engaged in boring at Bahilpurwa when they were kidnapped by Goppa along with Mahendra Pasi, Rajola and three to four aides. Their family members tried to get the victims released but when they failed, they lodged a case on Wednesday. The police said that they launched a hunt and traced the location of the gang at Jhilon jungles on Wednesday evening. later as they tried to lay a trap, the dacoits opened fire so they too retaliated. After an hour of cross-firing, the accused fled taking advantage of rains.
The cops further said that they found the vehicle and boring machine of the victims. However, they could not shift it to the police station due to rains. As the cops claimed that they combed the area, the dacoits managed to torch the vehicle and the boring machine.
later senior officers, including DIG Chitrakoot range, rushed to the spot and on Thursday, they traced the last location of the gang in Ghadchap jungles under Manikpur police station. Heavy police force has been engaged combing in the area to track down the dacopits and ensure release of the victims.