New Delhi: Salman Khan’s Robin Hood Pandey of Dabangg became a cult figure, but not all ‘Robin Hoods’ are lucky, and they don’t need to be. Ghaziabad’s Kavi Nagar police recently arrested a real-life Robin Hood, Mohammad Irfan aka ‘Jaguar thief’. Yes, you read it right — the luxury car was his getaway vehicle after the job was done. While he is currently lodged in Uttar Pradesh’s Dasna jail, Irfan has hit headlines in the ongoing Bihar panchayat election.
That’s just one of the many interesting facts associated with this ‘superchor’, accused of committing at least 40 robberies across 12 states in India.
This village Robin Hood from Bihar’s Sitamarhi district now has a budding politician in his family. This week, his wife Gulshan Parveen won the Zilla Panchayat election from Sitamarhi’s Pupri block ward number 34 by asking for votes in ‘Robin Hood’ Irfan’s name. Why? Because Irfan had used his bounty to construct seven roads in and around his village Jogia at a cost of nearly Rs 1 crore. After her victory, Parveen now wants Irfan to contest assembly elections, when he gets out.
Gulshan Parveen’s election campaign was built entirely on the philanthropic deeds of her husband. Every poster of her campaign showed Irfan and Gulshan together. She won her seat in ward number 34 by 2,000 votes and claims to have defeated her opponent by nearly 50 per cent votes. Most of the credit for Gulshan’s victory is attributed to Irfan’s ‘generosity’. Villagers voted for him, as much for Gulshan.
At the heart of everything, though, is a love story, and a promise made by Irfan to his wife, Gulshan Parveen.
Ek love story
Gulshan says Irfan first saw her during a visit to his elder sister-in-law’s house. The duo fell in love, and soon decided to get married. We were poor and married against the wishes of our families, she says.
The couple wanted to brave poverty, but despite various stints — from opening a small hotel, to running a cloth store — nothing worked out. They also roamed around, from Mumbai to Delhi, to make ends meet but to no avail. That is when, Gulshan says, Irfan decided to commit robberies, to support his family.
“Main hamesha mana karti thi aise kaam karne se (I always stopped Irfan from committing such acts),” she says. Now a public representative, Gulshan defends her husband. “Irfan would never let anyone go away empty-handed. He has not done anything for his family, only for those who need help and are poor,” she says.
Jaguar thief
The first FIR lodged against Irfan dates back to 2013, as per Kavi Nagar police station press note, and the latest one was lodged on 4 September this year. Irfan committed his first robbery in 2010 and used the spoils to get his sister married.
According to the Ghaziabad police, the history-sheeter has committed robberies across 12 states, including Punjab, Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana, Goa, and Uttar Pradesh. Investigating Officer (IO) Devendra Singh, whose team nabbed Irfan, says the robber has spent time in jails in West Bengal and Delhi too.
Irfan’s arrest comes in connection with the Rs 1.5 crore burglary he committed at a Ghaziabad home. The accused, who was part of the ‘Ujale gang’ would mostly commit crimes by himself. Eleven members of the gang were arrested before the police could get hold of him, with the help of a CCTV footage.
Police reveal the ‘Jaguar thief’ had burgled Rs 65 lakh cash from a judge’s house in Delhi, days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced demonetisation in 2016. Burgle a house and leave in a Jaguar, that’s something even the cops accept was innovative on Irfan’s part— “who would imagine a man driving a Jaguar is a thief who just committed a robbery,” says an official at the Kavi Nagar police station.
Local hero
“He never kept the money only for us. He would always help whoever was in need,” says Gulshan. The statement is echoed by another villager of Garhi Jogia, Samima Khatoon, who cites an incident highlighting Irfan’s kindness. “There was a dhobi in our village that Irfan helped. He was unwell and needed money to get an expensive operation done. Irfan paid for everything,” says Khatoon.
Gulshan claims Irfan has helped organise the weddings of at least 50 women from underprivileged families in and around his village. In fact, it was the villagers who had first asked Irfan to contest the MLA elections, says Gulshan.
Safar abhi baaki hai
Gulshan and Irfan have two daughters aged 10 and 7. Gulshan says she wants to lead a ‘dignified’ life with her family, now that she has won the election. Irfan had told his wife he would quit the world of crime if she wins the election.
According to a news report, Irfan had 10 girlfriends. However, IO Devender Singh says there was no way to verify this information.
Gulshan, who was also arrested a few years ago for aiding her husband, says Irfan never committed any robbery in his native state, something IO Devender Singh confirms. The newly elected panchayat representative declares, “If he (Irfan) comes out of jail, I will make sure he wins the MLA election, and we will both be in politics and work to help everyone.”
(Edited by Anurag Chaubey)