11 Convicted From Jhalawar Court, Get Life Term In Gangster Mukhtar Malik Murder Case

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): An Additional District and Sessions Court in Jhalawar, Rajasthan, has sentenced 11 accused to life imprisonment in connection with the murder of Bhopal-based gangster Mukhtar Malik.

The court acquitted two accused due to lack of evidence while one accused was sentenced to five years of imprisonment.

The case dates back to the night of May 31, 2022, when Mukhtar Malik, along Kamal Kishore and several associates, went by boat to Bhimsagar Dam near Kansakhedli village to guard the dam. During late hours, a group of armed attackers, allegedly led by Abdul Bunty and Wasim Ahmed Raja and their accomplices opened fire at them.

Kamal Kishore sustained bullet injuries and died on the spot. Several others were injured but managed to escape by jumping into the water. Mukhtar Malik, after being shot, fled towards a nearby forest but later died due to injuries and dehydration. His body was found by local police nearly one kilometre inside the forest the next day.

The investigation was conducted by then Aklera DSP Girdhar Singh. The prosecution, led by Additional Public Prosecutor Vinod Kumar Gochar, presented 44 witnesses and 94 documents in court, which formed the basis of the conviction. The court held the accused guilty of murder.

Crime profile

Mukhtar Malik, a resident of Obedullaganj in Raisen district, had 58 criminal cases registered against him at the time of his death. These included charges of murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping and extortion. Aged 61 at the time of his death, he was first arrested in 1982. In a gang war in the Bhopal district court involving Munne Painter gang, Mukhtar was sentenced to death by the High Court in 2006-07. However, he was acquitted by the Supreme Court. Two people were killed in that gang war.

In 1990, Mukhtar was accused of threatening the then chief minister Sundarlal Patwa. In 1996, he kidnapped three children in Raisen district for ransom. On Nov 24, 2003, he allegedly orchestrated an attack on then deputy jailer PD Shrivastava of Bhopal Central Jail through his shooter Taufiq.

In 2012, there was a major crackdown on Mukhtar gang during which the then CSP Jahangirabad Saleem Khan conducted a public parade of gang members. After Mukhtar s death, his son Yaseen Malik has become active in criminal activities.