Fleeing criminals raise doubts over policing

JAIPUR: Connivance of junior rank policemen with gangsters has put a blot on the police department's image in the state. The connivance has come up in all three major cases of organized crime reported recently in the state including the escape of notorious criminals Anandpal Singh and Mangilal and attack on Gagan Pandit in broad daylight. It has added to the embarrassment of the police department since the cops have failed to arrest the criminals in these incidents.
It's been almost three months since notorious criminal Anandpal Singh escaped while being brought to Ajmer high security prison from a court in Nagaur. Despite the apparent uphill efforts to find him by the police, the criminal is still on the loose. Another hardcore criminal Mangilal who fled from police custody in Jodhpur on November 21 is untraceable.
While the pendency of the arrest of wanted criminals is on the rise, the police's image has gone for a toss due to their failure to nab notorious criminal and the revelation that some junior-rank policemen had connivance with them. Nearly 7,000 criminals are on the list of absconders till October this year.
A police officer, pleading anonymity, said that teams of Nagaur police and SOG have not given up efforts to trace the criminal.
"Our teams are still camping at several places including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh to find Anandpal and his three aides who escaped on September 3," a police officer. A police guard Shakti Singh played a vital role in Anandpal's escape.During investigation it came up that another suspended constable Dharmendra Chaudhary had supplied arms to the criminals who helped Anandpal escape.Three police guards were arrested for helping Mangilal Vishnoi escape from police custody in Jodhpur on November 21.The role of a constable posted in Bassi police station is being probed in the recent gang war in which notorious criminal Gagan Pandit along with his three aides was shot at by a gang of Haryana-based goons in Jawahar Nagar area on November 23. The police officials said that immediately after the shootout, Ram Singh a constable posted in Bassi police station area, received a call from Sanjay Sharma who hired the Haryana-based gang to murder Pandit. Because of this call, Ram Singh, suspected to have a connection with Sharma, was aware of the fact that Pandit and his aides had been shot and a gang based in Haryana had been hired for the task, but he didn't inform his seniors.
A senior police officer said that in most cases, these notorious criminals come close to junior rank policemen while they are transported between prisons and courts. An easy solution to this problem is that the same guards should not transport a particular criminal. They should be changed on a regular basis. "It doesn't happen practically because of the lack of manpower," the officer said.
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Recent cases
Sep 3: Notorious criminal Anandpal Singh escaped after members of his gang opened fire on the police near Parbatsar in Nagaur.
Connivance:A police guard Shakti Singh offered sweets laced with intoxicating substance to other guards. Shakti Singh arrested.
Nov 21: Notorious criminal Mangilal escaped from police custody in Jodhpur.
Connivance: Three police guards took him to his mother in a car. Mangilal escaped after seeing his mother. Three guards arrested.
Nov 23: A gang of Haryana-based criminal opened fire at hardcore criminal Gagan Pandit in Jawahar Nagar area at the behest of another criminal Sanjay Sharma.
Connivance: A constable at Bassi police station Ram Singh had received a call from Sanjay Sharma immediately after the attack, but he didn't inform his seniors about it. The constable arrested.