UP STF arrests Pilibhit man who fled custody amid COVID pandemic

Noida: The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) on Tuesday arrested a 34-year-old murder accused who had escaped police custody during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. He was caught in Ludhiana, Punjab, after being on the run for five years, officials said.

The accused, Shashank Bajaj, a resident of Pilibhit, was wanted for the 2015 murder of Subhash Chandra Sharma, a menthol trader from Badaun. Police said the killing stemmed from a business dispute.

“Shashank’s father, Deepak Bajaj, had supplied menthol worth Rs 6 lakh to Sharma. When prices surged, he demanded payment at the revised rate or return of the product. After Sharma refused, the father-son duo allegedly killed him,” said Additional SP, Noida STF, Raj Kumar Mishra.

A case was lodged at Badaun police station under IPC Sections 302 (murder), 34 (common intention) and 504 (intentional insult). The duo was arrested in Dehradun after six months. Shashank was lodged in Badaun jail in 2019 while his father continued in custody.

In 2020, after testing positive for COVID-19, Shashank was admitted to hospital, where he escaped custody. A fresh case was registered against him under IPC Sections 224, 379, 269, 270 and the Pandemic Act.

Police later announced a reward of Rs 50,000 for his arrest. Acting on a tip-off, the STF traced him to Ludhiana and took him into custody. “He is being interrogated for further details,” Mishra said.