Haryana gangster who fled on parole held in Cambodia after six years
Mainpal Badli, a convicted murderer who skipped parole in 2018, was extradited from Cambodia after six years as a fugitive.
A convicted murderer who walked out of a Haryana jail on parole in 2018 and never returned has been arrested in Cambodia, where he had spent six years living under a false identity, running a business and raising a family.
Mainpal Badli, also known as "Dhilla", belongs to Badli village in Jhajjar district and is listed in police records as a high-profile criminal. Charges against him include murder, attempted murder, robbery, dacoity, criminal intimidation and assaulting police officers. One police record lists 24 cases against him, while another cites 22, with convictions in three.
Parole and disappearance
Mainpal was serving a life sentence for murder at Hisar Central Jail when the Commissioner of the Hisar Division and the Jhajjar District Magistrate granted him six weeks of parole on July 17, 2018. He was to report back by August 29. When he failed to surrender, a case was registered under Sections 8 and 9 of the Haryana Good Conduct Prisoners Act, and the state police announced a reward of Rs 5 lakh for information leading to his arrest.
A new life abroad
Investigators found that Mainpal had obtained a passport in the name of Sonu Kumar, claiming to be a resident of Gurugram. The address turned out to be fake, leading to an FIR and charges under the Passport Act. On July 7, 2019, he flew from Kolkata to Bangkok. He has said he stayed in Thailand for about 20 to 22 days before travelling to Cambodia.
In Cambodia, he said, he met Chen Meta and the two began living together, initially in a rented hotel in Siem Reap. About a month later they pooled $10,000 to buy a house. He also opened a disco called 'Kontiai' and a restaurant called 'Angkor'. The couple had three children: five-year-old Bahubali, four-year-old Bhagat Kumar and one-year-old Aastha.
Identity revealed
After about six years on the run, his account is that he went to renew his visa in July 2025, when his real identity came to light. He was arrested earlier this month after being extradited from Cambodia in an operation coordinated by the CBI with the state police and the Union Ministries of Home and External Affairs.