Sharpshooter Abdul Kavi, who had been absconding for the past 18 years after being named in the 2005 Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA Raju Pal murder case, has surrendered quietly in the Lucknow CBI court.
A CBI lawyer confirmed that Atiq’s associate Abdul Kavi had surrendered and was sent to jail in 14-day judicial custody.
Kavi carried a reward of Rs one lakh on his head.
Additional Director General (DG), Prayagraj zone, Bhanu Bhaskar, said, “It has been a sustained investigation of over 35 days in which Kavi was chased across the country by multiple teams. Succumbing to the pressure, he surrendered. No photo of the accused was available with any national or state agencies. But the police tried and brought it into public light. As many as 15 teams were conducting searches in Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Raipur, Satna, Katni, Jabalpur, Prayagraj, Jalaun, Chitrakoot, Shravasti, Meerut, Saharanpur.”
The DG said that 19 family members of Kavi — including his brother, sister, brother-in-law and others — have been arrested while 28 arms licences of his kin and associates have been cancelled in the past month.
Earlier, CBI teams probing the Raju Pal case had compiled property records of the fugitive with the intention to attach his assets.
Senior police officials had also prepared a dossier on Kavi as he had four criminal cases –including two murders, one attempt to murder and one Explosive Act case — pending against him.
In the first week of March, Kavi’s elder brother Abdul Qadir was arrested by Kaushambi police on the charges of keeping illegal firearms in his house.
During a raid at Kavi’s house at Bhakanda village under Saray Akil police station, Kaushambi police had recovered a rifle, four country-made pistols, several live cartridges and two knives hidden in the walls. Some crude bombs were also recovered.
An FIR was lodged against 11 persons, including five women, in this connection.
Those named in the FIR included Abdul Kavi, his father Abdul Gani, Kavi’s wife Kaneez Fatima, brother Abdul Qadir and others.