Crime Branch lands ‘big catch’ after dramatic late-night chase

Illustrations/Uday Mohite; Pics/ Hanif Patel

1. Jai Veer Ram Swarup, 40, (right, in circle) and his aides looted betel nuts worth Rs 1 crore from Nalasopara and fled towards Gujarat on February 18. Cops learnt that he was returning on Monday and laid a trap. He encountered a dozen cops in plainclothes after crossing Khaniwade toll plaza.

Inspector Pramod Badakh

2. A Crime Branch team led by Inspector Pramod Badakh signalled to Swarup, a member of the organised crime syndicate, to stop, but he instead speeded up and tried to run the officers over. Inspector Badakh had a brush with death that night. He saved himself by jumping to one side of the road. The other officers who were in the way of the truck also escaped unhurt.

The wheel that Inspector Pramod Badakh shot at

3. As he fell on the road, inspector Badakh took out a 9 mm pistol tucked into his waist and fired five rounds at the speeding truck. Though his aim was to puncture the tyres, one bullet hit the metallic rim of a tyre, ricocheted off and grazed his stomach. The wounded officer did not give up. He got up and ran towards the police vehicle to chase Swarup, who was recklessly speeding away on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway. Sources at the toll plaza told mid-day the truck's speed was no less than 90 kmph. A police team coming towards Virar from the Gujarat side was also alerted to stop him

The cops who were part of the special operation. Pics/Rajesh Gupta

4. The truck left Khaniwade toll plaza around 2.30 am on Tuesday and headed towards Mumbai. Swarup took multiple U-turns as police teams chased him. Finally, officers surrounded Swarup, forcing him to stop and arrested him. A court sent him to police remand until February 28. On Tuesday evening, the police arrested three of his aides from Mulund. They were armed with swords and tried to attack the police, said sources. "It's a big catch," an officer told mid-day