All-women Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) team on May 5, nabbed a wanted criminal who has been accused in various cases of murder, extortion, and robbery. He was nabbed at a forest in Gujarat’s Botad district.
According to an official, the accused Jusab Allarakha Sandh who is in his fifties was wanted in 23 cases in Junagadh, Rajkot, and Ahmedabad among other districts and had jumped parole last year in June. Jusab had been hiding deep inside the Botad forest for the past several months.
All-women team nab dreaded gangster
The team comprised of five ATS officials which included four women – Santok Odedra, Nitamika Gohil, Aruna Gameti and Shakuntala Mal who were given the task of arresting the criminal on the ground, while PSI Jignesh Agravat was involved in locating Jusab. The whole team had to cross hills and jungles and lay in hiding to nab the accused.
The ATS said in a press statement, “The accused Jusab was hiding in a forest in Botad district and it was getting difficult for the local police to arrest him. His case was handed over to the ATS. A team of police sub-inspectors Santokben Odedara, Arunaben Gameti, Nitamika Gohel, Shakuntala Mal, and Jignesh Agravat carried out the operation and nabbed him.”
Jusab has committed numerous crimes in the past including four murders. Last year when he got parole to attend the last rites of his wife, he jumped the parole. Weeks later, he killed a man, Jeevanbhai Sanghani using firearms to avenge the murder of his associate. Jusab has also committed several incidents of assault. According to Santok Odedra, an ATS official, Jusab is trained to live with minimal requirements. He lived without phone or power connection in his makeshift accommodation which made it difficult for the police to arrest him.
The ATS team had received a tip-off from an informant regarding the presence of Jusab in the middle of a deserted forest area in Devgadh, Botad district. Consequently, a quick response team was immediately set up to arrest him. But Jusab had been living deep inside the forest in a makeshift accommodation where no vehicles could reach, so the officials had to enter the forest on foot on Saturday night. Jusab was infamous for firing at police parties in the past, so the ATS team did not take any chance, waited for the sunrise and arrested him from his hut.
While talking to DNA India, ATS DIG Himanshu Shukla said that there are many women officers who are sent in the field for operations, however, this was the first time that a team of women officers was also headed by a woman. “All of these brave officers had been assisting in many cases and helped crack a lot of them as well. We don’t discriminate if it is a woman officer or a man officer,” he added.
Santok Odedra also said that she has not faced any discrimination till now but there are some people who believe that woman officers are only meant for desk jobs. Those people should not underestimate women, she said.
The Logical Indian take
It is indeed a matter of pride that such a dreaded criminal was neutralised by a brave all-women team. It once again proves that women can thrive in any professions, even those which are typically considered to be a male bastion. While The Logical Indian congratulates the team for achieving such a feat, we hope that more such stories emerge. We also hope that people take inspiration from this instance.
