New Delhi: Badan Singh Baddo, who escaped on Thursday from police custody in Meerut after being produced in a court in Ghaziabad is a big name in the criminal world not just in Meerut, but the entire Uttar Pradesh.
He has a total of 34 cases on him and, according to the state police, there could be more. These 34 cases include murder, extortion, attempt to murder, bank robbery and illegal weapons.
Baddo used to stay in one of the poshest localities in Meerut. Hailing from Amritsar, Baddo and his family settled in Meerut about 40 years ago. Having started his own transportation business and then, gradually shifting to bootlegging, Baddo began his carrier in the crime world in 1988.
It has also been found that Baddo had a partnership in Mukut Mahal Hotel where the police team bringing him back to Farukkabad jail from Ghaziabad stopped for food, and from where he fled.
“There was a team of three criminals — Baddo, Sushil Mooch and Bhupinder Bafar. They were good friends and used to operate together. Later, there was a fallout in their friendship. Baddo is absconding and so is Mooch,” said Brajesh Singh, circle officer, STF, Meerut.
The 50-year-old dreaded criminal has at least three-four murder cases on him. After coming out on bail, he killed a Zila Panchayat member, Sanjay Gujjar, in 2011 and manager of DEN cable network, Pavitra Maitrey, in 2012.
He was arrested by the special task force (STF) later in 2012, said the police officer. Last year, Baddo was sentenced to life for the murder of a lawyer’s brother.
Baddo’s criminal activities didn’t just restrict to Uttar Pradesh and nearby states, but Andhra Pradesh, as well. He was wanted in a bank robbery case in the southern state.
“We can’t call him a Robin Hood, but he was no less than that. He was an influential person. He used to mingle with elite businessmen and even did business with some of them. He was not a regular thief or criminal,” said a senior UP Police officer. He was also known to illegally occupy disputed lands.
His wife and son are settled in Australia. While the son is doing his post-graduation from there, his wife runs hotel business. Despite being behind the bars, Baddo continued to exert his power in the criminal world.
While the UP Police is acknowledging the role of some of the department’s officers in helping him escape from custody, senior officers are also hopeful of Baddo’s arrest at the earliest.
Police have ruled out the possibility of him leaving the country as his passport was cancelled long time ago. A look-out circular was also issued on Thursday following his escape. “There is no possibility of him fleeing out of the country unless, of course, he changes his identity completely and runs away on a fake passport,” a senior police officer said.
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