The CBI received a jolt on Thursday when a key accused in the Bhanwari Devi case, Kailash Jakhar, escaped from police custody in Jodhpur amid an exchange of fire between the police and Jakhar’s accomplices.
The police, however, managed to prevent another key accused, Bishna Ram Bishnoi, from fleeing. It arrested one of the accomplices and seized a vehicle from the site. A massive manhunt has been launched to apprehend Jakhar.
According to the police, it was a well-planned incident timed for when Jakhar and Bishna Ram Bishnoi were brought to a local court in Jodhpur from the jail in connection with a criminal case. The police party, comprising six policemen and headed by a commando, was attacked by a gang of more than half a dozen people who managed to free both Jakhar and Bishnoi. There were three vehicles standing by to pick up the accused. “When the police party resisted, the attackers fired and the police returned fire to push them back,” said a senior police officer.
The incident occurred on the court premises where a good number of litigants and lawyers were present. “When they tried to put Jakhar into a Scorpio-like vehicle, we snatched the key of the vehicle. Meanwhile, they used another vehicle to flee but we foiled their attempt to take Bishna Ram with them,” said a police constable.
“When both accused came out from the courtroom after the hearing (not of the Bhanwari case), they started firing to create panic to manage Jakhar’s escape,” said Jodhpur police commissioner B.K. Dak. “We have launched a manhunt to arrest Jakhar and others who participated in the attack,” Mr Dak said over the telephone from Jodhpur.
According to the police, Bishna Ram also attempted to escape but could not. He has been taken to Jodhpur Central Jail. The police sent several teams to Jodhpur city and the rural areas to find Jakhar. Though Jakhar has 48 cases against him, and Bishna Ram 43 criminal cases, both were brought to court without handcuffs.
The nurse Bhanwari Devi went missing in September last year after a CD came into circulation showing her in a compromising position with then minister Mahipal Maderna. The CBI later recovered the remains of her body from a canal in the Jodhpur rural belt. According to the CBI chargesheet, Jakhar was the most active member of the Bishna Ram gang and both played key roles in disposing of Bhanwari’s body.
The CBI had arrested Jakhar in the first week of January from a truck on the highway while Bishna was arrested from Pune.
The investigating agencies had already expressed apprehension about the security of its witnesses and had received threats. On the agency’s request, Maderna and suspended Congress MLA Malkhan Singh were shifted from Jodhpur jail to Jaipur and Ajmer respectively.