Kendrapara:Most notorious gangster Hyder, who had let loose a reign of terror in
Odisha for almost more than a decade from 1995 to 2005, had a rags –to –riches story.
The gangster who was killed in a police encounter today while being shifted from Choudwar jail to Baripada jail for security treason was pulling a rickshaw before making his entry into the underworld,perhaps in sheer desperation.
Many in this district headquarter township ,which is state’s oldest Municipality, had seen him
pulling rickshaws to earn bread and butter before he stepped into the sleazy underworld and
started pulling sophisticated triggers.
For the 59-year-old ruffian Sheikh Hyder, the shortcut path to wealth and a life of power and luxury was through crime.The gangster earned infamy in the 1990s and 2000s for a series of murders and abductions for ransom, executed by his associates and also for the gang wars.
Hyder was convicted in two murder cases and sentenced to life in jail both times. But he allegedly operated his crime syndicate from inside the jail through his associates across the state.
The rickshaw puller turned mobster, Sheikh Hyder, crime records dates back to nearly three
decades. In early 90s, he had allegedly started his anti-social activities as the henchman of deceased Rabin, who was a dreaded criminal.
Hyder’s notoriety had spread overnight after he shot dead criminal Bula Sethi inside the Kendrapara court premises in 1991. He was injured in an encounter with police in 1997.Initially till the early 90s, Sk.Hyder, and Suleman Malik alias Suleman were a part of the gang led by Tito. The two parted ways from Tito after dispute over division of their booty .
Later, Hyder and Suleman joined in the new group formed by the relative of slain Budha mian,
by taking Kabula Singh, Banua, pinku and Babu , in order to take revenge from Tito In the process, Hyder and Suleman became more powerful. This led to gang war to establish hegemony between Tito and Hyder .
In 1999, Hyder attacked Tito by hurling a bomb towards him but Kalu ,one of Tito's associates,
was killed in the attack at his house. As many as 4-6 gangsters of both the gangs died in the gang war that took place between Tito and Hyder gangs in the coastal districts.
Later, Hyder and Suleman split up from each other in 2002 after an altercation over distribution
of a dacoity amount and both of them locked horns with each other for supremacy in the gang.
Hyder and Tito used to single out corrupt officers and unscrupulous contractors and traders .
They used to force them to pay protection money .Political patronage and funding had also
allegedly emboldened the gangs as they were reportedly used during election campaigns for
the political leaders in past years .
They allegedly used to indulge in bank robberies ,dacoities ,contract killing but their regular
source of income was generated from the hafta of local officers ,politicians and contractors.
In 2005 Tito joined hands with his arch rival Hyder and later Hyder-Tito jointly switched over to the tender papers business by terrorizing the contractors in and outside the districts. In May 2005, Hyder’s men shot dead Sulaiman’s younger brother,Sheikh Chuna, near
Stewart School in Bhubaneswar. Hyder was arrested and put in jail in this case. In March 2011, he was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. Hyder was also named as an accused in Sulaiman’s murder case, but he was acquitted.
Hyder led his gang from inside Bhubaneswar jail. He masterminded the abduction of Keonjhar mining businessman Rashmi Ranjan Mohapatra and his driver with a Rs 2 crore ransom demand in Bhubaneswar in May 2007.
They killed Mohapatra and his driver allegedly despite receiving Rs 1.12 crore as ransom. Hyder and two of his accomplices were sentenced to life imprisonment in this case in
October 2015.
Odisha police have to shift Hyder from one jail to another jail in Bhubaneswar, Balangir and Sambalpur – over the years with the aim of cutting down his crime networks and preventing
chances of gang skirmishes inside the jails,but he managed to make unholy nexus by giving
monetary gratification.
On May 2, 2017, Hyder was transferred to Sambalpur jail from Jharpada jail in Bhubaneswar due to security reasons following reports of gang war with Dhalasamanta brothers.Hyder was brought to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack in April following his complaints of pain in internal organs and admitted in the surgery ward.
But he escaped from there on April 10 after providing biriyani laced with sedatives to policemen guarding him there. Six police constables were placed under suspension for dereliction of duty.
The hardcore history sheeters of Kendrapara also developed their network and good rapport at Hyderabad, Gujurat Kolkata and Bangalore. Their associates used to take shelter in the hideouts at these states after committing crime in the state in order to evade police arrest, a police officer said.
Hyder gang used to purchase arms like 9 mm sophisticated pistol and revolvers from the gun
runners of West Bengal and Bihar, who came to his hide outs and delivered the consignments
of arms. The arms and ammunition of the gang members are mostly sophisticated, informed
