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Thokia used 24 mobiles to hoodwink police

A file photo of dreaded bandit Thokia soon after he was shot dead by the STF in the ravines of Chitrakoot.

Lucknow: Using multiple mobile phones could be tough for anyone but not for dreaded slain dacoit Ambika Patel alias Thokia of Uttar Pradesh who had used 650 SIM cards through 24 mobile phones in the last six months to evade police.

Top officials of the Special Task Force (STF) of the U.P. Police who had gunned down 33-year-old Thokia earlier this month said that he frequently changed his SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) cards to hoodwink police personnel.

“He had used 650 SIM cards in the last six months. We were after him for a very long time and he knew that we were tapping his phones to ascertain his location,” an STF official said.

Explaining the modus operandi, the official said that Thokia who faced 147 criminal charges and carried a reward of Rs. five lakh on his head had used 24 mobile phones to operate the 650 SIM cards.

The official said that the dacoit was probably “educated” about the entire electronic surveillance system of the STF by a policeman himself.

“One of the constables who was aware about the surveillance technique had apparently trained Thokia in countering our style by using so many mobile phones and SIM cards,” the police official said.

The cat and mouse race between the STF and Thokia had reached a flashpoint last year with six members of the special force being shot dead in an encounter with the dacoit’s gang.

The setback to the State police force had come a day after the same force had shot dead Thokia’s friend - dreaded dacoit Dadua along with 12 members of his gang.

“Thokia was the only person who had given a setback to STF. Our celebrations of killing Dadua was short-lived as the same police party which killed the dacoit was attacked by Thokia,” an official said.

Thokia had created a reign of terror in various areas of the State and neighbouring Madhya Pradesh by executing loots, kidnappings, extortions and murders.

Thokia -- a Hindi slang for the one who shoots -- was an illusive character in the region dotted by thick jungles, rocky ravines and deep poverty that has harboured bandits and renegades since the 12th century. -- PTI

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Thokia used 24 mobiles to hoodwink police

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