Accused lawyer evades cops, surrenders in court

LUCKNOW:Evading cops who were present outside the court to arrest him, lawyer Madhukar Mishra, accused of involvement in loot of ₹1.85 crore from the residence of a trader in Lucknow, surrendered before Chief Judicial Magistrate (customs) Himanshu Dayal Srivastava on Monday. Police said Mishra surrendered in connection with an old case that was registered against him at the Ghazipur police station of Lucknow in 2015.

To recall, seven people, including two sub–inspectors, a constable, a driver and three lawyers, looted ₹1.85 crore cash from the residence of a red sand trader, Ankit Agrahari, in Omaxe Residency Apartments, Gosaiganj, on Saturday.

An FIR of dacoity was registered against sub-inspectors Pawan Mishra and Ashish Tewari, lawyers Madhukar Mishra, Radha Krishna Upadhyay and Yash Raj, constable Pradeep Singh Bhaudharia (gunner of ASP crime Ashtabhuja Prasad Singh) and one Anand Yadav, the constable’s personal driver.

Police said that with the S-Is, the constable and his driver already having been arrested and Mishra having surrendered in court, only lawyers Radha Krisnha Upadhyay and Yash Raj were left to be nabbed now.

The accused had raided the trader’s house on the pretext of recovering ‘unaccounted for’ cash, following a tip-off by Mishra. They looted ₹1.85 crore out of the ₹3.38 crore that the trader showed them, leaving only ₹1.53 crore as ‘recovery’ to be presented before senior cops.

The trader’s allegations were found true, as the CCTV camera footage showed the lawyer and two others leaving the apartment with a bag before senior cops arrived. CO Mohanlalganj, Raj Kumar Shukla, said, “The S-Is, the constable and his driver were arrested after recovery of around ₹40 lakh and the two cars used in the crime.”