Kaushal’s arrest spells relief for Haryana businessmen

Faridabad, Aug 27 (IANS) The business community in Gurugram, Faridabad, Rewari and other districts of Haryana heaved a sigh of relief after the arrest of gangster Kaushal, against whom 325 cases of extortion and murder are registered in different police stations.

K.K. Rao, Faridabad Police Commissioner, said Kaushal and his gang were active in several Haryana districts. While Kaushal, who jumped a parole in 2016, stayed at foreign locations and made extortion calls using Whatsapp, based on the information provided by the gang's recce wing, the crime was executed by his sharpshooters and other accomplices, Rao said.

Kaushal had killed his several opponents after being released on parole in 2016.

Chand, one of his sharpshooters, had revealed during police interrogation about Kaushal's involvement in murder of Mahesh Attack, a gangster, of Jharsa village on September 21, 2016, and liquor supplier Manish Gujjar on October 17, 2016. Mahesh was a friend of Binder Gujjar, another Gurugram gangster, and Gujjar was Binder's younger brother.

Kaushal went underground after these killings, got a passport made in the name of Harish and left the country. After briefly staying in Bangkok, he shifted to Dubai. During his stay in Dubai, Kaushal obtained another passport from Spain.

Kaushal was also involved in murder of Haryana Congress spokesperson Vikash Chaudhary, cricket bookie Vijay Batra alias Tantrik of Gurugram and property dealer Jaydev alias JD, the police said.

A red corner notice and lookout circular were also issued against Kaushal by the Haryana Police.

"During interrogation, Kaushal confessed that he wanted to flee to Zambia on the Spanish passport. We are trying to locate his Spanish contacts," Rao said.

Kaushal's Dubai location was first revealed during a cocktail party, organised by his trusted aide and relative Amit Dagar. At the party, Dagar had reportedly said Chaudhary (Kaushal) had gone far away from the Haryana Police's reach.

Kaushal's location was confirmed following arrest of his wife Roshni, girlfriend and Dagar by the Gurugram Police recently.

During a random check, the Dubai Police had arrested Kaushal. His real identity was revealed during interrogation. When they cross-checked it with Interpol, the Dubai Police found a red corner notice and lookout circular against him.

The Dubai Police also seized two passports from him. "Kaushal was repatriated to India and the STF arrested him at the IGI airport. We have seized two passports and 7,00,000 dirham (around Rs 14 lakh)," said Rao.

"We have taken him on a 7-day police remand for interrogation and have asked the police of other districts to cross check individual cases," the Faridabad Police Commissioner said.