Prime witness in Lakhan Bhaiyya case goes missing

Incident comes barely a week after a local court framed charges against 22 policemen and others in the 'encounter' case
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ANIL Bheda, prime witness in the killing of alleged Chhota Rajan aide Ramnarayan Gupta alias Lakhan Bhaiyya, went missing last morning. His wife, Aruna, has lodged a kidnapping complaint against unknown persons with the Vashi police.



A local court had framed charges against the 22 accused policemen and others in the 'encounter' case last week.

According to Aruna, Bheda left home in his car around 11.30 am saying he was going to meet a businessman friend of his, but did not return home. His cellphone was also switched off.

A worried Aruna then began looking for him and found the car abandoned near their house. This was when she decided to register a complaint.

"The Vashi police has registered a kidnapping complaint against unknown persons," said Ram Prasad Gupta, Bheda's lawyer and Ram Lakhan Gupta's brother.
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"The case has been registered," confirmed Inspector Sanjay Surve of the Vashi police.

Killed

Lakhan Bhaiyya was allegedly killed by the police on November 11, 2006, in Versova on the suspicion that he was a member of the Rajan gang.

Four days later, advocate Ram Prasad had moved a petition in the Bombay High Court alleging that his brother was murdered by the police in a fake encounter.

22
The number of policemen and others against whom charges were framed

A magisterial inquiry was ordered by the High Court in February 2008, which concluded that Gupta was killed in cold blood.