‘Gave ₹6 lakh for safe surrender, still police killed him’:Gangster’s son alleges murder; cops claim he died of suffocation while hiding inside bed during raid

My father had many cases against him, but most of them were fabricated by the police. Just a few days ago, my father had given six lakh rupees to police officers so that no one would bother him, because he was going to surrender in court, but before that, the police killed him. These allegations have been made by Shahid alias Sherdil, son of history-sheeter Wahid alias Bhayyu Lala, who was wanted in three states. Bhayyu Lala died under suspicious circumstances on February 18 in Surjani village of Mandsaur during a police raid. While the family accuses the Sitamau police of entering the house and beating him to death, the incident has now raised serious questions over the circumstances surrounding his death. Meanwhile, the police claim that Bhayyu hid inside a bed during the raid and died of suffocation. To verify the facts, the Bhaskar team reached the spot and spoke to both sides. Mourning at Bhayyu Lala’s house Around 1:30 PM, Bhayyu Lala’s luxurious house, built amid the fields outside Surjani village, was engulfed in mourning. Silence hung behind the strong iron gate as the male family members left for the Mandsaur district headquarters for the post-mortem. Inside, women wept inconsolably while relatives and acquaintances kept arriving and leaving. Amid this atmosphere, Bhayyu’s wife Rukhsana and his son Shahid alias Sherdil came forward, tears in their eyes and fear clearly visible on their faces. ‘Papa had many cases, most of them were false’ Bhayyu’s son Shahid made sensational allegations against the police, saying, My father had many cases against him, but most of them were false. He was going to surrender in court, which is why he had given 6 lakh rupees to police officers a few days ago, so that there would be no trouble, but the police betrayed him and killed him. Recalling the incident, Shahid further said, A police team came to the house. About 15-20 jawans stayed in the house for three hours. They took me away from the village in a police vehicle. There, they made me sign blank papers and threatened that if I told anything to the media, they would put me in jail for 10-20 years. Wife recalls raid horror Bhayyu’s wife, Rukhsana, in tears, recounted the terrifying sequence. She said, My husband and I were sitting in the inner room when policemen suddenly arrived. The TI was talking while sitting on the bed. Suddenly, he pointed a constable towards the DVR, and it was removed. After that, they dragged my husband to the front room. ‘I was alone with my children. The police locked me inside the room, and female personnel were deployed outside. I could hear my husband’s screams. I kept pleading to save him, but they did not let me out. They beat him for about an hour and a half and then left,’ she alleged. Not murder, but an accident Contrary to the family’s allegations, the police are calling this incident an accident. Sitamau SDOP Dinesh Prajapati stated, Bhayyu Lala had several serious cases registered against him. He was a wanted criminal with a reward of 5 thousand rupees. The police had gone to raid in search of him, but he was not found at home. Later, we received information from the 112 emergency number that Bhayyu had died. Police claim that when the team arrived to raid, Bhayyu hid in the bed box built into the house to escape them. The police searched the house, and when he was not found, the team returned, but he died due to suffocation from a lack of air in the bed. Wanted by three states According to police records, Wahid alias Bhayyu Lala was no ordinary criminal. He was from a farmer’s family, but in 2003, he stepped into the world of crime. In 23 years, 19 serious cases were registered against him in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra, including robbery, dacoity, attempted murder, illegal weapons, and drug trafficking. Wanted to surrender for his daughter’s wedding The family says that Bhayyu wanted to marry his daughter and live a normal life, which is why he decided to surrender in court after making arrangements with the police. He had come to Surjani to discuss this matter, but the police killed him. Post-mortem report awaited Currently, the truth in this matter will only come out after the post-mortem report is released. The report will clarify whether the cause of death was suffocation or injuries on the body. The family has filed a named complaint with the SP, demanding an FIR against the accused police personnel.