After 32 years of chasing, notorious Indian bandit Shiv Kumar Patel, also known as Dadua, got killed this Sunday. Dadua, 56, was India’s most wanted bandit carrying a reward money of Rs.500,000 on his head. He was wanted in connection with more than 240 criminal cases but was hailed by many as a modern-day Robin Hood.
He and his gang operated for decades in ravines and forests on the borders between the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
A home ministry official told the AFP news agency that the bandits had been located following a tip-off.
According to AFP, locals identified the badly-disfigured body as that of Dadua although officials say they are to have DNA tests conducted on it before handing it to relatives.
Locals said he managed to avoid being caught for so long because he was supported by villagers who often took a share of his spoils.
“His words were diktat in ravines and people used to vote for candidates supported by Dadua and therefore political parties preferred not to rub Dadua on the wrong side,” local aid group leader Ramesh Sharma told AP. But Dadua appears to have backed the wrong party in recent state elections.
It is strange, how the Indian Police could not even procure a photograph of Dadua for the last three decades of his criminal activities. News and photo source: BBC
