PATNA: Dreaded gangster Babloo Dubey, who faced as many as 36 murder cases and allegedly ran a crime network in northern Bihar and Nepal, was shot dead on a crowded court campus in Bihar on Thursday.
Dubey was shot by two unidentified assailants when Special Auxiliary Police jawans were escorting him to the jail van, after being produced in court in connection with a murder. The assailants pumped five bullets into his chest and used the large crowds on the court campus to escape, said police.
West Champaran superintendent of police (SP) Vinay Kumar said a profusely bleeding Dubey was rushed to Maharani Janki Kunwar Hospital in Bettiah, where he was declared brought dead.
Dubey’s murder on the additional chief judicial magistrate’s court premises in Bettiah, the headquarters of West Champaran district, raised serious questions about security arrangements in Bihar courts.
“A manhunt is on to nab the men who killed Dubey. SAP jawans escorting him did not fire back at the assailants due to fear of injuring people in the crowd,” Kumar said.
Police sources said Babloo Dubey’s murder could be the handiwork of a rival gang active in parts of north Bihar and Nepal. He was brought to the court from Bettiah jail, where he was lodged since April 11.
The gangster was shifted from Motihari jail in neighbouring east Champaran district to face trial in the murder of a person named Jawahar Sah, the head of Majhaulia village.
Known as the “terror of north Bihar,” Dubey faced nearly 70 criminal cases, 36 involving murder, in east and west Champaran districts. He came into the limelight in 2016 after the abduction of Nepalese industrialist Suresh Kedia in Bihar, which he allegedly masterminded.
Sources also said Dubey had been running his crime network from jail. He allegedly headed a gang called Bihar People’s Liberation Front, which has networks in the northern districts of Bihar and in several districts of Nepal.
The gangster served a ten-year jail term in Nepal till 2013. He was arrested while trying to enter India in June 2013 for criminal cases he faced in Bihar. The body was sent for post-mortem and raids were being carried out to nab the culprits, the SP added.