Patendra Jaiswal, a key accused in a liquor smuggling network linked to the killing of Khategaon police station in-charge Dilip Puri, was taken into custody after appearing before the Dewas district court with his advocate on Friday, Dewas police said.
Dewas superintendent of police Aditya Mishra said Jaiswal had been absconding since the November 2 incident in which Puri was allegedly mowed down by a truck suspected of transporting illegally procured liquor. Police had formed search teams to trace him across Alirajpur, other districts of Madhya Pradesh and neighbouring states.
Raids were conducted at suspected hideouts, but Jaiswal remained untraceable until he appeared in court. He is among the alleged partners being investigated by a Special Investigation Team probing the liquor transportation and distribution network.
According to the suspected partnership arrangement cited in the investigation, Rahul Jaiswal, Manish and another partner, Mohin, each held a 30% share, while Patendra Jaiswal held a 10% stake. Rahul has already been taken into custody. Manish was arrested in Vadodara on November 9 and remanded in police custody until November 16. Mohin died of a brain haemorrhage in Ahmedabad on November 8.
The case began on the night of November 2, when Puri was leading one of five special teams formed by Mishra to crack down on illegal liquor transportation. At around 1.30 am, the team reached the Indore-Betul highway near Sandalpur Fata and stopped a truck near Narmada Dhaba.
Although the truck appeared to be empty, police found a concealed compartment containing 208 boxes of Bagpiper whisky, amounting to nearly 1,800 litres of liquor. Puri was inspecting the vehicle when the truck ran him over, killing him, according to the report.
A 22-member SIT headed by additional superintendent of police Soumya Jain was subsequently constituted to investigate the killing and trace the wider network. Investigation teams were also sent to Gujarat and Harda to establish the liquor’s supply chain and examine alleged links in the transportation and distribution network. Jaiswal’s custody is expected to form part of that continuing investigation.
