Chhota Rajan behind Pune jail murder?
NEW DELHI: With suspicions swirling around the murder of Indian Mujahideen operative Qateel Siddiqui in Pune’s high-security Yerwada jail on Friday, the police are exploring the possible involvement of underworld elements, particularly that of Chhota Rajan.
Rajan’s possible role is under the scanner because the gangster has styled himself as “patriotic don” ever since he fell out with Dawood Ibrahim over the latter masterminding the 1993 serial blasts as a retaliation to the communal riots following the Babri demolition.
Rajan’s erstwhile accomplices —Bharat Nepali, Santosh Shetty, Vijay Shetty and Ravi Pujari among others — who formed their own gangs since have also targeted the D-company which is now a full-fledged ally of Pakistan’s ISI.
Interestingly, Sharad Mohol and Alok Bhalerao, the two inmates who strangled Siddiqui, told interrogators that they killed him because he had tried to blow up the temple of their deity, Ganapati, and was engaged in anti-national activities.
“This is a classic line that Rajan gang and his splinter groups use to justify their actions. Though there is no concrete evidence yet of any gang being involved in Siddiqui’s killing — nor are the killers known to be affiliated to any gang — circumstances do point to a hit job,” said a Mumbai Crime Branch official.
‘Gangsters sport nationalist veil’
Such “nationalist” postures help elevate the status of gangs and gangsters as well as their acceptability, transforming them from criminals to a counterweight to Pakistan-backed underworld like the D-company, said a senior police officer.
For instance, in April last year, the Mumbai crime branch arrested three operatives of the Vijay Shetty gang from the Mumbai sessions court premises just before they were to take a hit at 7/11 train blasts accused Ehtesham Siddiqui. Those nabbed had also planned the escape of those accused of killing advocate Shahid Azmi, who appeared for terror suspects.
Just like the Siddiqui murder accused, the troika arrested from the Mumbai sessions court justified their plan to eliminate Ehtesham on the grounds that he was involved in “anti-national” activities.
In fact, Azmi, who has defended several 7/11 accused, was killed by shooters of Bharat Nepali on the same pretext. “The Rajan camp has always felt that through these killings they will somewhat win the favour of Indian intelligence agencies which will help them flourish,” said another official who has investigated cases against Rajan and his estranged aides. Another reason for the needle to point towards Rajan gang’s possible involvement in Siddiqui’s killing is its wide network inside Maharashtra jails. Several of his aides such as D K Rao and slain gangster Farid Tanasha have operated freely from behind bars. They have also recruited men for the gang from among inmates and pulled off sensational murders inside the jails in the past.
A case in point is the murder of estranged Rajan aide O P Singh in 2003. Singh was lodged in Nashik jail while around 20 members of the Rajan gang were in Mumbai’s Arthur Road jail. In September that year, all these 20 inmates, including D K Rao, were summarily transferred to Nashik jail without any court order or security concern. Within three days of the transfer, the gang murdered Singh. The incident led to suspension of a dozen officers from both jails.
What has strengthened the underworld angle is the suspicious turn of events leading to Siddiqui’s murder. Jail sources say Siddiqui was seen freely mixing with his killers — Mohol and Bhalerao — earlier and the trio would even play chess off and on. “So if they hated him so much, they should have been hostile to him earlier,” said an investigating official.
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