Dadua not to surrender before police, says brother

Lucknow, Dec 26 (UNI) Dreaded dacoit Shiv Kumar alias Dadua has no plans to surrender to the Uttar Pradesh Police, his brother and ruling Samajwadi Party leader Bal Kumar Patel said even as police has launched a massive operation in Bundelkhand region to apprehend the outlaw.

Talking to mediapersons here, Bal Kumar said although he had no relationship with Dadua for the last two decades, there is no question of his surrender at the moment.

The SP leader maintained there was no specific reason for it.

Contradicting the claims of police that the properties Rae Bareli and Fatehpur belonged to Dadua, Bal Kumar said all the properties in Rae Bareli were in his name and he was regularly filing Income Tax (IT) return. ''The properties in Fatehpur and Chitrakoot are ancestral,'' he asserted.

Asked if the Samajwadi Party government was putting pressure on surrender of Dadua, Bal Kumar said he had full faith on Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Recently, state director general of police (DGP) Bua Singh said police had launched a massive operation against Dadua in the Bundelkhand region.

Dadua, who carries a reward of Rs five lakh on his head, had supported the BSP in the last general and assembly elections in UP.

But, in a surprise move the dacoit, against whom both the UP and MP governments have launched several combing operations in the past, had supported the SP in the last Lok Sabha election.

Bal Kumar was the BSP candidate against SP's Reoti Raman Singh from Karchana seat in Allahabad district in 2002 assembly poll.

Dadua, the self-styled 'dasyu samrat' (bandit king) has been eluding police for over two decades now. More than 140 cases are pending against him in both the states. The police do not even have his photograph.

However, there is a difference between him and slain sandal wood smuggler Veerappan, who was active in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Dadua takes on illegal tree-fellers and has even gunned down a poacher.

Dadua has become a terror for both the forest mafia and conniving forest officials to virtually stop poaching in the area. In fact, he has won plaudits from some senior forest officials to this end.

UNI MB VS VD KN1609