Madhya Pradesh's Lone Bandit Queen Sadhna Patel Arrested

The Madhya Pradesh police finally arrested the formidable dacoit, who functioned in and out of the Vindhya region of the state and the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh, Sadhna Patel on Sunday. The MP Police was after the lone bandit queen operating in the region for two years now and their run came to an end in Satna where she was arrested terminating the eight-member gang that she headed.

The 21-year-old dacoit carried a reward prize of Rs 20,000 from the UP and MP police and has been charged with several crimes including the abduction of a teacher in Satna and a businessman in Nayagaon area last year.

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“Acting on the tipoff about her movement in Kadianmod forest area of Satna district, police cordoned off the area and arrested her on Sunday morning. Women police personnel also participated in the operation. Police recovered a rifle, four live cartridges and some items of daily use,” said Riyaz Iqbal, superintendent of police, Satna, HT reported.

“A resident of a village in Chitrakoot, UP, Sadhna Patel was familiar with dacoits as her paternal aunt was a member of dreaded dacoit Chunni Lal Patel’s gang but Sadhna entered the world of crime after a dacoit named Naval Dhobi with whom she had an affair, was arrested in 2017. After Naval’s arrest, she started leading the gang and robbed many traders both in UP and MP,” he added.

Police conducted an anti-dacoit operation last month in which, they nabbed six members of the gang that Patel led - Rinku alias Ravi Shivhare, Dipak Shivhare, Shiv Murat Kol, Dhannu alias Dhanpat Khairwar and Dadu Singh alias Pattidar Singh, TNIE reported. Police also seized the arms and ammunition possessed by the gang members. Earlier in September, the police shot down most wanted inter-state dacoit Babuli Kol and close aide Lavlesh Kol in an encounter. Now with the arrest of Patel, the SP says that have put a close to the active gangs in the Vindhya region.

Acting on the tip-off about her movement in Kadianmod forest area of Satna district, police cordoned off the area and arrested her on Sunday morning. Women police personnel also participated in the operation.

The police investigation has revealed that Sadhna Patel aka Belni Patel belongs to a village in Bharatkup police station area of UP’s Chitrakoot district. One of her female relatives had connections with the inter-state dacoit Chunni Lal Patel. Patel ran away from her house in 2015-2016 and returned a few months later. Meanwhile, she came across a dacoit operating in the area, Naval Dhobi and became an active member of his gang.

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When Dhobi was arrested last year, she took his position and started leading the gang by planning high profile kidnappings of a teacher and a businessman in 2018. However, she became aware of the anti-dacoit operations being conducted by the police so she wanted to join forces with the bigger gang of most wanted inter-state dacoit Babuli Kol. But after Kol and her aide Lavlesh's encounter, she had to take a step back.

After Patel's arrest, only one member of her gang, Gyanendra Patel is on the run.

Picture credit- Naidunia