Lucknow: In a shocking incident, an enquiry by UP irrigation department about a 6-year experienced senior assistant missing work led to the discovery of his murder conviction 11 years ago, Times of India reported on September 9.
The convict Anoop Dubey, who is in his mid-30s now, had been arrested for the murder of a youth named Devendra Singh Tomar of Nainagarh in 2013, along with Gaurav Jha, Kapil Sharma and Akash. The gang, who wanted to kill Devendra for ‘arrogant behavior’, had taken the victim to a secluded spot in Babina near Jhansi in the pretext of a picnic. They had shot him dead and burnt his body.
When Lakhan Singh Tomar, the victim’s father, had confronted them about his missing son, they had told him about the murder and had proceeded to issue death threats, if he told anyone. Despite the threats, Tomar had filed a murder case against all four on May 17, 2013 which had let to their arrest. However, chief engineer Mithlesh Dubey, the accused’s father, had succeeded in securing his bail six months later.
When his father died in 2018, Dubey had secured a job in the UP irrigations department on compassionate grounds. Despite stringent background checks, including mandatory police verification and character certificate of any candidate applying for a government post, no criminal history of Dubey had allegedly come out inspite of there being an active murder trial against him.
Dubey went on to work till August 13, this year, completing 6 years of service. On August 14, the day of verdict in his case, he was on leave to his duty at the irrigation department. Jhansi court convicted him and other three accused in Tomar murder case and sentenced them to life, on that day.
When he didn’t return to work, the blissfully ignorant department had initiated an enquiry to trace him which had revealed his court conviction. The case has led many to question the credibility and efficiency of the recruitment process in the government agencies which couldn’t prevent an accused murderer from securing a job and settling comfortably for over six years in public service.
The case draws parallel with that of Bitty Mohanty who was jailed for seven years in 2006 for raping a German national. Eight months later, while on a 15-days parole to visit his sick mother in Cuttack, Odisha, he escaped the clutches of law and went missing. His father B B Mohanty, an IPS officer, had been charged with helping his son abscond, an accusation which the former persistently refused. He was reinstated to service in 2009 and continued to serve in the force till his retirement in 2012.
Years of police work to locate Bitty Mohanty failed until 2013 when he was arrested from a bank in Kannur, Kerala, where he was working under a false name of ‘Raghav Rajan’, a resident of Andhra Pradesh. An anonymous letter sent to the bank revealing the true identity of one of its employees had led to the police tip-off.
