MUMBAI: A Chhota Rajan gang member has emerged as the police's key suspect in Tuesday's killing at Pakmodia Street, near J J Marg, where Arif Sayyed aka Bael, the bodyguard of don Dawood Ibrahim's brother Iqbal Kaskar, was shot dead. While senior police officers said it was unlikely that Rajan himself ordered the killing, they said "one of his lower-rung gang members may have committed the crime "because of a trivial dispute with Bael".
A man claiming to be Rajan on Thursday reportedly told a channel that Ubed-ur-Rehman, his gang member, ordered the hit because he feared Bael and his aide Haneef Talwar were out to kill Ubed. The man said he approved of the killing, but was not out to kill Kaskar. Police are verifying the authenticity of the voice on the tape of the interview.
Meanwhile, Dawood has set up his own investigation, said a source in the underworld speaking from Dubai. Even as Mumbai police and crime branch teams attempt to solve the mystery of who would order a hit on Dawood's home turf, the D-gang has promised retaliation as soon as it uncovers the truth, said the source. The Dubai source added that Dawood asked his lieutenant Chhota Shakeel to conduct the probe. "Since Shakeel started making his own inquiries, Chhota Rajan called up a common friend and swore that he was not behind any attack on Dawood's family. Rajan is believed to have said that he would not do such a thing knowing that he would put the lives of his relatives, including wife Sujata and brother Deepak Nikhalje, who are in Mumbai, at risk," said the Dubai source.
Gangsters Santosh Shetty and Vijay Shetty, who last year bumped off Bharat Nepali in Bangkok, have also called up Shakeel to say they were not behind the shooting, said the source. A senior police officer said that Ubed may have hatched the conspiracy to kill Bael over a trivial dispute. Ubed was a wanted accused in the Asif Dadhi firing in 2009. His shooter had fired on Dadhi, who escaped with minor injuries. Two bystanders were killed. Now a member of a political party, Dadhi was at one time associated with the Dawood gang. However, the D-gang refuses to believe Bael was the sole target. "We just can't believe they had come to kill Bael, a small-time resident from Jogeshwari who travelled unarmed in local trains. We don't buy the police theory Kaskar was not the target. To kill a man like Bael, why would they have three imported sophisticated weapons, three mobiles and Rs 18,000 in cash," said the Dubai source.
The crime branch last year arrested two Rajan shooters, Mohammed Ali Jaan Ahmed Shaikh and Pranay Manohar Rane, and seized a .38-bore US-made revolver in the Dadhi case. The two gunmen had used the same weapon to kill bookie Chhote Miya, who was associated with the Dawood gang in 2009.
THE SHOOTERS
Bilal Mustafa Ali Sayyed (29)
A resident of Mumbra, Sayyed works as a salesman in a cutlery shop at Crawford Market for Rs 4,000 a month. He married last year and stays with his wife, child, mother and brother. The conspirators had visited Crawford Market and offered him a "good job". Sayyed had to shoot one person, but the name of the victim was not divulged. While Sayyed was promised Rs 50,000, he was paid Rs 5,000 in advance. Police said he had never operated a firearm, but fired four rounds at Bael
Indralal Bahadur Khatri (29)
Born in Nepal, Khatri worked as a labourer for a few years till the age of 15 and later joined the Maoists' movement. He is said to be experienced in operating all kinds of firearms and is learnt to be wanted by the police in Nepal. After being on the run for a couple of months, he was reportedly contacted by the conspirators, who offered him shelter in India and a job. He fired one round at Bael.
A man claiming to be Rajan on Thursday reportedly told a channel that Ubed-ur-Rehman, his gang member, ordered the hit because he feared Bael and his aide Haneef Talwar were out to kill Ubed. The man said he approved of the killing, but was not out to kill Kaskar. Police are verifying the authenticity of the voice on the tape of the interview.
Meanwhile, Dawood has set up his own investigation, said a source in the underworld speaking from Dubai. Even as Mumbai police and crime branch teams attempt to solve the mystery of who would order a hit on Dawood's home turf, the D-gang has promised retaliation as soon as it uncovers the truth, said the source. The Dubai source added that Dawood asked his lieutenant Chhota Shakeel to conduct the probe. "Since Shakeel started making his own inquiries, Chhota Rajan called up a common friend and swore that he was not behind any attack on Dawood's family. Rajan is believed to have said that he would not do such a thing knowing that he would put the lives of his relatives, including wife Sujata and brother Deepak Nikhalje, who are in Mumbai, at risk," said the Dubai source.
Gangsters Santosh Shetty and Vijay Shetty, who last year bumped off Bharat Nepali in Bangkok, have also called up Shakeel to say they were not behind the shooting, said the source. A senior police officer said that Ubed may have hatched the conspiracy to kill Bael over a trivial dispute. Ubed was a wanted accused in the Asif Dadhi firing in 2009. His shooter had fired on Dadhi, who escaped with minor injuries. Two bystanders were killed. Now a member of a political party, Dadhi was at one time associated with the Dawood gang. However, the D-gang refuses to believe Bael was the sole target. "We just can't believe they had come to kill Bael, a small-time resident from Jogeshwari who travelled unarmed in local trains. We don't buy the police theory Kaskar was not the target. To kill a man like Bael, why would they have three imported sophisticated weapons, three mobiles and Rs 18,000 in cash," said the Dubai source.
The crime branch last year arrested two Rajan shooters, Mohammed Ali Jaan Ahmed Shaikh and Pranay Manohar Rane, and seized a .38-bore US-made revolver in the Dadhi case. The two gunmen had used the same weapon to kill bookie Chhote Miya, who was associated with the Dawood gang in 2009.
THE SHOOTERS
Bilal Mustafa Ali Sayyed (29)
A resident of Mumbra, Sayyed works as a salesman in a cutlery shop at Crawford Market for Rs 4,000 a month. He married last year and stays with his wife, child, mother and brother. The conspirators had visited Crawford Market and offered him a "good job". Sayyed had to shoot one person, but the name of the victim was not divulged. While Sayyed was promised Rs 50,000, he was paid Rs 5,000 in advance. Police said he had never operated a firearm, but fired four rounds at Bael
Indralal Bahadur Khatri (29)
Born in Nepal, Khatri worked as a labourer for a few years till the age of 15 and later joined the Maoists' movement. He is said to be experienced in operating all kinds of firearms and is learnt to be wanted by the police in Nepal. After being on the run for a couple of months, he was reportedly contacted by the conspirators, who offered him shelter in India and a job. He fired one round at Bael.
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