Haryana STF team with notorious gangster Mainpal Badli who was deported from Cambodia.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
A notorious gangster, having fled to Cambodia on a fraudulently procured passport during his parole, was deported after six years and arrested by the Special Task Force (STF) of Haryana on Wednesday. He carried a cash reward of ₹5 lakh on his head and was wanted in two dozen cases of murder, attempt to murder, daocity and robbery, said the police.
Mainpal Badli, 45, was sentenced to life imprisonment in three separate cases of murder registered at Sadar Bahadurgarh police station.
Holding a press conference here, STF Inspector General of Police Satheesh Balan praised Haryana Police, Ministry of External Affairs, International agencies (Interpol) and the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Granted parole in 2018, despite strong opposition by Mr. Balan, who was then Superintendent of Police, Jhajjar, and later by his successor, Mainpal fraudulently acquired an Indian passport in the name of Sonu Kumar of Gurugram, and escaped to Bangkok in July 2019 from Kolkata airport. He travelled to Mauritius and Indonesia before settling at Siem Reap in Cambodia where he owned a discotheque, running it with the help of his girlfriend.
Mainpal, a resident of Jhajjar’s Badli, carried ₹1.25 crore in cash with him when he fled India. “During the interrogation so far, he has claimed no contact with any criminal gangs back in India. He had been in the hiding,” said Mr. Balan.
He added that Mainpal was traced based on human and technical intelligence.
Serving his sentence at Hisar jail, Mainpal was granted six weeks’ parole on July 17, 2018, but did not surrender. A case was registered in this connection and he was declared a Proclaimed Offender on October 30, 2019. “Despite having committed a murder inside the jail during his sentence, he was granted parole citing good conduct,” said STF Superintendent of Police Waseem Akram, who led the team that took Mainpal’s custody in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and brought him back to India.
Mr. Balan said the issue of criminals fleeing the country on fraudulently acquired travel documents was taken up with the authorities concerned. “This issue not just concerns Haryana, but other States as well,” he said.
The arrest comes in the backdrop of the Opposition alleging deteriorating law and order situation in the State.
Published – September 04, 2025 01:22 am IST
