AS POLICE in Bihar launched an intense search to nab him for the July 17 murder at a Patna hospital, prime suspect Tauseef Khan alias Badshah managed to flee to Kolkata and urgently availed an online service — to get a neat haircut. The ploy to change appearance almost worked, according to investigators involved in the operation to nab him from a Kolkata guesthouse two days later.
“When we caught him, he looked completely different; he had cut his hair short. He wasn’t immediately recognisable,” Solomon V Nesakumar, ACP (STF), Kolkata Police, told The Indian Express on Tuesday.
Hours after Chandan Mishra, a criminal from Buxar who was out on parole, was gunned down at Patna’s Paras Hospital, CCTV footage had emerged showing Tauseef and his accomplices — armed with guns — entering his cabin, and rushing out after a few minutes.
Once police in Bihar had the footage, images of the suspects were sent out to alert police in neighbouring states, as is the practice. And then came the specific alert: Tauseef was heading towards Kolkata.
West Bengal STF IG Gaurav Sharma said, “The Bihar STF contacted us, informing that Tauseef Khan and three others were en route to Kolkata in a vehicle, and provided us with the vehicle number.” Bihar Police had obtained this crucial information from a woman they had arrested.
With only the registration number, West Bengal STF began tracking the vehicle’s movement — based on FASTag and toll plaza data — as it crossed Jharkhand. Around 10.30 pm on July 17, the vehicle was traced to Dankuni in West Bengal, before it entered Kolkata.
A key factor in the successful operation was the use of Automated Number Plate Reading (ANPR) systems. “It’s a very advanced, specialised camera. The number plates captured by these cameras are clearer, and using an algorithm, it provides clear data, making it easier to search vehicle movement,” Sharma said.
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Soon after their presence in Kolkata was established, multiple teams from Kolkata Police STF and Bengal STF were put on high alert. By July 18 morning, police were confident that the suspects would attempt to leave the city, prompting them to alert all toll plazas.
ACP Nesakumar said, “We identified a place through sheer analysis technology, ANPR. The car was in a residential area. There was a guest house.” Although the police identified Tauseef’s cousin Nishu Khan, who had suffered from paralysis, he said: “Tauseef looked totally different from what he looked like when he committed the crime. They were not armed, we arrested them.”
Tauseef, Nishu, and his caretakers Harsh and Bhim, were arrested on July 19.
They were taken to Patna on Monday after the Alipore court in Kolkata granted two days of transit remand to Bihar Police. Following medical examinations, all four were presented before the court in Patna. “While three of the accused were sent to judicial custody, Patna Police secured remand for Tauseef for three days to conduct further interrogation in the case,” Patna Police said.
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Patna SSP Kartikeya Sharma said investigation was on to establish the motive behind Mishra’s killing.
Police on Tuesday arrested three more suspects – two of whom had accompanied Tauseef into the hospital – after a brief encounter in Bhojpur district of Bihar.
The encounter took place around 5 am along Katia Road under Bihia police station limits when a joint team of the Bihar STF and local police identified the three and ordered them to surrender. “The suspects responded by opening fire, prompting retaliatory action by police. In the exchange, two of the accused, Balwant Kumar Singh and Raviranjan Kumar Singh, sustained bullet injuries. Both are currently in police custody and receiving medical treatment. A third accused, Abhishek Kumar, was arrested at the site,” a senior police officer said.
Balwant and Raviranjan were the shooters who accompanied Tauseef, police sources said. Abhishek drove the motorcycle in which Balwant and Raviranjan escaped from the hospital after the murder.
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Police have also recovered two pistols, one country-made firearm, two magazines, and four live cartridges from the scene.
“During preliminary interrogation, the arrested individuals admitted to their involvement in the July 17 murder of Chandan Mishra at Paras Hospital,” an officer said.
