Rajasthan's 'lady don' arrested along with wanted gangster

Deputy Commissioner of Police Special Cell-Counter Intelligence Manishi Chandra said Kala Jathedi alias Sandeep along with Chaudhary were arrested from near a dhaba on the Saharanpura Yamunanagar highway in Uttar Pradesh on Friday afternoon.He said for the last six months, various state police, especially Delhi Polices Special Cell and Crime Branch teams were tracing him but in the last 15 days, his team comprising over 30 police officials were on the ground, and covered a distance of around 10,000 km, switched multiple locations across different states like Goa, Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand and Odisha to nab Jathedi.

Rajasthan's 'Revolver Rani' Anuradha Chaudhary, accused in over 12 criminal cases, has been arrested along with 37-year-old wanted gangster Kala Jathedi from Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur following a six-month long manhunt spanning 12 states, the police said on Saturday.

Chaudhary, 37, was known by different names -- Madam Minz as well as 'Lady Don' and 'Revolver Rani' of Rajasthan, they said. She was involved in over 12 criminal cases in Rajasthan and was wanted in connection with two FIRs related to abduction, extortion and firing, they said. The Rajasthan Police had announced a reward of Rs 10,000 on her arrest. She was an an associate of gangster Anandpal Singh, who was killed in a police encounter in 2017 in Rajasthan's Churu district. After Singh's death, she allegedly joined the Jathedi gang, police said. To scare her targets, she would fire in the air from her AK-47 rifle to extort money, police said. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell-Counter Intelligence) Manishi Chandra said Kala Jathedi alias Sandeep along with Chaudhary were arrested from near a dhaba on the Saharanpura – Yamunanagar highway in Uttar Pradesh on Friday afternoon.

He said for the last six months, various state police, especially Delhi Police's Special Cell and Crime Branch teams were tracing him but in the last 15 days, his team comprising over 30 police officials were on the ground, and covered a distance of around 10,000 km, switched multiple locations across different states like Goa, Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand and Odisha to nab Jathedi. ''The team got some leads connected to Goa and started trailing him from there. The search led them to Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Uttarakhand. ''The team, was finally able grab a footage which showed Kala Jathedi in a Sikh attire along with Chaudhary. Until he was caught, we did not have any positive identifiers nor mobile phone details to trace his exact location,'' the DCP said. Police said after escaping from the custody of Haryana Police in February 2020, Jathedi, a resident of Sonipat, was working to expand his network in the national capital and adjoining states. To divert attention of the investigators, his associates spread rumours that he had fled the country. After the death of gangster Anandpal Singh, his associate Chaudhary joined Jathedi and the duo then got themselves fake identities and posed as husband-wife to evade arrest, they said.

Since then, the duo constantly kept shifting their bases across the country and communicated to associates through code languages. Jathedi disguised himself as a Sikh, and started growing beard and wearing a turban to mislead the investigators, police said. Police claimed to have recovered Jathedi's favourite weapon -- an imported pistol -- and Anuradha's weapon, a 0.38 revolver, along with live cartridges, from their possession along with a swift car in which they travelled. The duo were produced before a court on late Friday night which granted 14 days' police remand for further investigation. Jathedi will be questioned by the Crime Branch over his alleged links with two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar, lodged in Tihar jail in connection with the Chhatrasal Stadium brawl, according to police. Jathedi is wanted in 15 cases in Delhi, including extortion, murder and other heinous crimes in Delhi. He is wanted in over 25 other cases in Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana, police said, adding he was carrying a reward of Rs 6 lakh, a senior police officer said.

He and Chaudhry were jointly heading a major international criminal alliance and were working in association with jailed gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi as well as Sube Gujjar, and those criminals who are based in foreign countries, including Kala Rana and Goldy Brar. Rana, a resident of Karnal, is operating from Thailand, while Brar, a resident of Punjab is operating from Canada. Another gangster Monty, a resident of Punjab, is operating from the UK, the police said.

The Delhi Police had also invoked the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against Jathedi.

According to the police, the gangster's name had cropped up when his relative Sonu got injured in the Chhatrasal Stadium brawl incident in which Sushil Kumar has been arrested.

He was the mastermind behind the escape of Kuldeep Mann alias Fajja from GTB Hospital in Shahdara. Fajja was subsequently killed in a Special Cell operation within three days of his escape, police said. Meanwhile, the Delhi Police through its official twitter handle tweeted that Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana interacted with teh 38-member Special Cell team that trailed and arrested Jathedi and his associate.