Times News NetworkSurat: The Surat Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) has arrested a notorious Uttar Pradesh-based criminal carrying a cumulative reward of Rs 1.5 lakh on his head.The accused, identified as Sholey Singh Thakur alias Anand Singh (26), was nabbed from the Khatodara area. Police said he operated the “Sholey Gang” and was involved in several serious offences, including murder, extortion, firing and attempted murder.Police in UP’s Jaunpur and Pratapgarh districts had announced rewards of Rs 1 lakh and Rs 50,000 respectively for information leading to his arrest.Additional commissioner of police Karanraj Vaghela said the DCB’s anti-organised crime squad received a tip-off that a notorious criminal hiding in Palsana was planning a major crime in Surat.“Based on the information, we arrested Sholey Singh, who is wanted in five serious offences registered at various police stations in UP. A total of nine criminal cases have been registered against him,” Vaghela said.Police said Singh had allegedly demanded Rs 1 crore in extortion from the principal of St Xavier’s School in Badlapur area of Jaunpur. To terrorise the victim, he allegedly fired four rounds outside the school gate.In another case, Singh allegedly demanded Rs 50 lakh as protection money from a doctor in Badlapur and opened fire when the demand was not met. The doctor sustained a bullet injury in the leg. Police said he had also threatened a bank manager in Uttar Pradesh.After the school principal refused to pay the extortion money, Singh allegedly returned to the school and fired additional rounds near the gate to create fear, police added.According to investigators, Singh aspired to establish himself as a “bahubali” in Jaunpur district and had formed his own gang by recruiting criminals from different gangs operating in Uttar Pradesh. The gang was active in the Badlapur, Baksha, Pratapgarh and Jaunpur areas, where it allegedly targeted businessmen and influential persons for extortion.Police seized two pistols and six live cartridges from the accused. Investigators suspect the same weapons were used in crimes committed in Uttar Pradesh.Fled to Surat, worked as tailorPolice said Singh had taken shelter in Surat after Uttar Pradesh police intensified efforts to trace him. Investigators found that he had previously lived in Surat and worked as a tailor and later as a security guard, which helped him remain unnoticed in the city for some time.
