Brijesh Singh, had been evading arrest since his escape from police custody in 1986.
The Delhi police had been looking for him for the past three years in connection with an extortion case in the Capital and a Special Cell team led by ACP Sanjeev Kumar Yadav eventually arrested him at Bhubaneswar in Orissa on Wednesday evening.
Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, Joint Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Karnal Singh said: “Brijesh had been untraceable for over two decades, but his terror was felt especially in eastern U.P. The police did not have his latest photograph for several years which helped him evade arrest for so long. He was once spotted in Delhi a year ago, but his identity could not be established and he managed to flee.”
Brijesh entered the world of crime in 1984 when he along with his accomplices allegedly committed a double murder to avenge the killing of his father over a land dispute.
His rivalry with politicians like Mukhtar Ansari and Afzal Ansari led to multiple murders and gang warfare across eastern Uttar Pradesh and northern Bihar. “Brijesh along with his gang members attacked the election convoy of Afzal Ansari killing six persons on May 2, 1991,” said Mr. Singh
He allegedly shot liquor mafia Virender Tata while he was being escorted from Allahabad Central Jail to an Azamgarh court. A sub-inspector, a head constable and an advocate were also killed in the attack.
In 1991, Brijesh and his accomplices stormed into a judge’s room chasing one Maya Singh Naate and allegedly shot him and a constable dead.
He along with his accomplice Tribhuvan Singh allegedly killed a sub-inspector and two Maharashtra police constables and a member of Arun Gawli’s gang whom he suspected to be involved in the murder of Dawood Ibrahim’s brother-in-law. Brijesh had worked for Dawood Ibrahim for a few years and left the don’s gang after the Mumbai serial blasts. He later got into liquor, coal and real estate business to establish his own empire.
“Once he even stormed into a hospital dressed as a policeman carrying an AK-47 rifle and murdered one Sadhu Singh who had come to meet his wife and newborn baby. Sadhu’s wife and child also sustained injuries in the attack. Later in the day, Brijesh killed eight persons, including Sadhu’s brother .