Jaipur: State police’s Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) Saturday arrested a former Rajasthan police commando who joined ranks of notorious gangsters Anandpal and Lawrence Bishnoi and was wanted in multiple criminal cases across the state, including a firing at a hotel in Churu district last year. Churu police had announced a reward of Rs 25,000 for his capture.Praveen Singh Jodi, 43, hails from Jodi village in Bhaleri police station area of Churu district. He joined the police force in 2001 as a constable and later served in the police commando unit in Jhalawar. However, his links with gangsters grew over time. He was found to be associated with shooter Ankit Bhadu from the Lawrence gang and was also involved with the Anandpal gang. These associations led to his dismissal from service on May 22, 2019.Following his dismissal, Praveen became an active player in the state’s gang network. According to police, he supplied contact numbers of local businessmen to key members of Anandpal and Lawrence gangs, including to Rohit Godara and Virendra, who then used this information to extort money. He is also facing three cases in Sriganganagar for sheltering criminals.AGTF pursued him for several months. The task force Saturday received information about his possible movement near Rajgarh Road in Churu. A special team arrested him there. He has now been handed over to Kotwali police station in Churu.Police officials said Praveen was linked to the firing incident at Suncity Hotel in Churu on Aug 17 last year. In that case, two men on a bike fired shots at the hotel. While no one was injured, the attackers managed to flee. Hotel employee Manjat Ali lodged an FIR against unknown persons, prompting Churu police to announce a cash reward for Praveen’s arrest.Earlier, AGTF had arrested another member of the same gang network, Jitendra Singh alias Jeetu Jodi, who is from the same village. During the raid, an AK-47 rifle, a magazine, and a large cache of ammunition were seized from Jeetu’s farmland.
