PATNA: A dreaded gangster facing as many as 36 murder cases, and who allegedly ran a crime network in northern Bihar and Nepal, was shot dead on a crowded court campus in Bihar on Thursday.
Babloo 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.
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 to 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.
“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 many in the crowd,” he added.
Police sources said Babloo Dubey’s murder could be the handiwork of a rival gang active in parts of north Bihar and Nepal. Dubey was brought to the court from Bettiah jail, where he was lodged since April 11.
He was shifted there from Motihari jail in neighbouring east Champaran district to face trial in the murder of one Jawahar Sah, the head of Majhaulia village.
Known as the “terror of north Bihar,” Babloo Dubey faces nearly 70 criminal cases, 36 of them involving murder, in east and west Champaran districts. He came to the limelight in Bihar in 2016 after the abduction of Nepalese industrialist Suresh Kedia in Bihar, which he allegedly masterminded.
Sources also said Babloo Dubey had been running his criminal 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.
He served a ten-year jail term in Nepal till 2013. He was arrested for criminal cases he faced in Bihar, while trying to enter India in June 2013.