‘Cops told of threats in April’

DADRI (Greater Noida): Just a week before Gautam Budh Nagar district voted in the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections on April 10, Vijay Pandit had gone to police, saying he was receiving threats to his life.

In the April 2 complaint, Pandit alleged the threats were being made by Anil Dujana, an alleged gangster who is lodged in Muzaffarnagar jail. His family said the police did not take the complaint seriously and lodged an FIR on April 8.

About five days before he was shot, Pandit had again allegedly received threat calls. “My uncle used to raise his voice against criminals. On April 2, he was threatened against campaigning in the elections and raising cases of extortion. About five days back, he against received a threat to his life,” said Nishu Sharma, Pandit’s nephew.

In 2008, a Dadri-based cloth merchant, Vinod Goyal, was brutally murdered and a BJP leader Manoj alias Mauli was critically injured in an attack by goons after they refused to pay extortion money. Since 2008, Pandit, a leader of the BJP youth wing in the district, had consistently raised his voice against extortions.

Dadri has always been notorious for this. On several occasions, traders have been targeted and even killed for not meeting gangsters’ demands.

It was against this that Pandit consistently campaigned. That is why, his family believes, he was on the radar of gangs operating in the area.

Police said they were close to cracking the case. “Prima facie, it appears that Pandit was killed because he kept raising criminals complaints with the police. Like he had extensively taken up ransom cases. We have the main lead in the case. A section of criminals were after him. We are in the process of gathering evidence. We have already detained four persons and they are being questioned,” DIG K Satyanarayan said.

Sharing details of the autopsy report, he added, “There were eight bullets found in his body. Massive bullet injuries are the cause of death. The injuries were found of the deceased’s stomach, near his mouth, chest, lungs and near the left ear.”