MEERUT: UP special task force (STF) nabbed dreaded gangster Bhupender Bafar from Ganganagar area of Meerut.
Police recovered an automatic pistol from his custody. Bafar, who once carried a reward of Rs 1 lakh in 2019, was out on bail and later failed to appear before the court and perhaps went underground.
On Wednesday, additional SP, UP STF field unit, Meerut, Brijesh Singh, said, "Bafar has 25 criminal cases, including eight murder, in various police stations of Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor and Dehradun. He was arrested from the Ganganagar area following a tip-off."
Once known to be close to a convicted absconder Badan Singh Baddo and big name in crime Sushil Mooch, Bafar had reportedly fallen out with the two and both are now his arch-rivals. UP police came down heavily on Bafar after he helped another Muzaffarnagar-based gangster Rohit Sandu to escape from police custody on July 2, 2019, in which a sub-inspector was killed.
On July 16, 2019, Sandu was killed in a police encounter. During a police investigation, Bafar's involvement was established and he was arrested on July 13, 2019, for his involvement in the attack. He was sent to prison, soon after, and lodged in Azamgarh jail. He came out on bail in early January 2021 and even fought UP assembly polls from Siwal Khas constituency, but lost.
Notably, Bafar had been actively involved in several murders that took place in 2011 while attempting to wrest control of the lucrative television cable business in Meerut.
