Surat cops get custody of Dawood aide Fazl-ur-Rahman

The parents of Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty had given a contract to the dreaded gangster to extort money from Praful Sarees owner Pankaj Agrawal. A resident of Dharam Palace,Parle Point in Surat,Shivnarayan,the brother of Pankaj,had lodged a complaint against Shilpa’s father Surendra,her mother Sunanda,Fazl-ur-Rahman and Ashraf with the Umra police station on May 1,2003 following extortion calls by the gangster to solve the monetary dispute with Shilpa Shetty. Fazl-ur-Rahman also demanded Rs 2 crore from Pankaj Agrawal.

According to the police,Shilpa Shetty had signed a contract with Praful Sarees for an advertisement,which continued to air on different channels even after the expiry of the contract. After Shilpa’s parents learnt about this,they demanded money from Pankaj,but when he refused to comply,Sunanda allegedly contacted Fazl-ur-Rahman through the local underworld and told him to solve the dispute.

After receiving threatening calls from Fazl-ur-Rahman and his gang members,Shivnarayan contacted the Umra police and lodged the complaint. The Umra police arrested Shilpa’s parents on June 20,2003 and started investigations. During interrogation,the police learnt that Sunanda Shetty had come into contact with Fazl-ur-Rahman through her driver.

Fazl-ur-Rahman and Ashraf were at large and was arrested by the Delhi Police in August 2006 from the Indo-Nepal border near Gorakhpur. He was wanted in 30 cases of extortion,blackmailing and abduction. After learning of his arrest,the Surat police started working towards getting his possession and finally returned on Thursday afternoon with him in custody. The Crime Branch will now produce Fazl-ur-Rahman before the court.

Surat Crime Branch DC S G Trivedi said: “Fazl-ur-Rahman and his gangmembers had made calls from 20 different simcards to extort money from Pankaj Agrawal. He was involved in several abduction cases here,including that of Adani Group Director Gautam Adani .” He added: “We have made CDs of the conversation of Fazl-ur-Rahman with Pankaj Agrawal and will perform the voice spectography. If needed,we will call Surendra,Sunanda and Shilpa Shetty for questioning. We will learn more during his remand period.”