Absconding cop dismissed from service

LUCKNOW: The state government on Tuesday dismissed inspector SanjaiRai from the police department. Rai has been absconding for past one month after his name figured as the key conspirator in the murder of teenage boy Maaz. Rai was booked by Indiranagar police under murder and criminal conspiracy charges on June 9.
Rai was summoned by senior superintendent of police (SSP) for questioning when his name figured in the probe but he has been on the run since then.He also shifted his family from the city to an unknown location. He was later suspended and notices served on him asking him to surrender his service pistol and CUG number. At the time of suspension, he was posted in the anti-human trafficking cell of Lucknow police.
Investigations show that Rai had hired shooters to get Maaz, 14-year-old cousin of his estranged girlfriend, killed. According to police, Rai thought that by bumping off a member of his girlfriend's family, she would have no choice but to seek his help to trace the killers.
The cat and mouse chase between Rai and the police began in first week of June when electronic surveillance confirmed exchange of calls between Rai and sharp-shooters who killed teenage boy Maaz in Faridinagar area of Indiranagar on May 29.
Rai had moved a surrender application before chief judicial magistrate on June 18 and also approached high court seeking a stay on his arrest. But the high court rejected his request on June 27. The district police also announced a reward of Rs 5,000 on him the same day.