Lucknow: In a dramatic, intelligence-driven operation spanning states and years, a joint team of the Surat crime branch and the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) arrested a fugitive dacoit who had evaded capture for 16 years by constantly changing identities and locations.The accused, Shailendra Kumar Singh alias Raju Singh (38), a native of Jaunpur, carried a reward of Rs 30,000 and was wanted in multiple dacoity cases registered in Surat, Gujarat. He was arrested on March 26 at around 5:30 pm from Vrindavan Yojana Sector-9 under PGI police station limits in Lucknow.Recounting the operation, Surat crime branch investigating officer Shailesh Dubey said the breakthrough came after the arrest of one CB Singh, a relative of the accused, nearly two weeks ago. “He revealed that Shailendra was in Lucknow and working as a property dealer,” Dubey told TOI.What followed was a carefully planned surveillance operation. “We deployed a team on the ground, and I myself posed as a kiosk owner in the area for five days to track his movements and confirm his identity,” Dubey said.The accused, however, proved extremely cautious. “He barely stepped out and had stocked essential supplies inside his house. For days, he did not make any movement,” Dubey added.The operation paid off on the fifth day. “The moment he stepped out to buy ration, we, along with the STF team, moved in and arrested him,” he said.Officials said earlier attempts to trace him in Jaunpur had failed as Singh maintained multiple identities. “In Jaunpur, he posed as a lawyer, while in Mumbai he claimed to be preparing for the Army,” Dubey said.According to UP STF additional SP Avnishwar Chandra Srivastava, Singh confessed during interrogation that he moved to Gujarat in 2009 in search of work and, along with four associates, carried out a series of robberies in Surat in 2010. While his accomplices were arrested, he managed to escape, first fleeing to Mumbai and then to Jaunpur and later returning to Lucknow.“Since then, he was living under fake identities in different cities, including Lucknow, to avoid arrest,” Srivastava said.Police added that Singh frequently projected himself as an advocate or property dealer to blend into society while remaining on the run.
