Two days after a Mumbai-based alleged sharpshooter from 'Chhota Shakeel' gang was held in an Ahmedabad hotel, thus busting a purported plot to assassinate senior BJP leader Gordhan Zadafia, the Gujarat Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) released a set of six videos of the hotel's CCTV footage on Friday beginning with the accused "checking in" till the ATS officers enter the hotel. Irfan alias Kalia Shaikh (24), a resident of Chembur in Mumbai, was held on Wednesday in a joint operation by the Gujarat ATS and Ahmedabad Crime Branch from Hotel Vinus on Relief Road near Lal Darwaza in old city Ahmedabad. According to ATS officials, Shaikh was given a contract to kill the BJP leader by the Chhota Shakeel gang at the behest of Pakistan's ISI. The accused had allegedly fired one round from a 9mm pistol at one of the four senior officials of ATS who had gone to apprehend him. According to sources, another accomplice of Shaikh had come from Mumbai to Ahmedabad with him and he is currently absconding. A day after Shaikh was held, he tested positive for Coronavirus on Thursday and was admitted in the isolation ward of Sola Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad under high security. He has not been arrested yet or presented before the magistrate as per the guidelines of the Gujarat High Court amid the pandemic. On Friday, the CCTV footage released by ATS showed Shaikh entering and exiting the hotel on various occasions on August 18. The videos also show four top cops of ATS and Ahmedabad Crime Branch — Himanshu Shukla, deputy inspector general (DIG) ATS; Deepan Bhadran, deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Crime Branch; K K Patel, deputy superintendent of police, ATS; and Bhavesh Roziya, DSP ATS — checking with the hotel receptionist just hours before the operation began. Speaking to The Indian Express, a senior official of ATS said, "There were questions being raised on the issue of his arrest. These videos do not harm the investigation and what is the harm in keeping transparency anyway? These videos will be made available in public domain anyway once we file the chargesheet against Shaikh (sic)." The first video shows Shaikh entering the hotel lobby with a small backpack around 10:18 am on August 18 wherein he is seen chatting with the receptionist and submitting documents for registration. The second video shows Shaikh exiting the hotel with the backpack around 2:12 pm on the same date. ATS officials have mentioned that Shaikh visited BJP office Kamalam in Gandhinagar on August 18 afternoon and allegedly sent videos of the building to his "handler" on Whatsapp around 3:30 pm. The third video shows Shaikh entering the hotel again around 7:47 pm on August 18 with the backpack and the fourth video shows him at the hotel reception around 11:49 pm on August 18, wearing a vest and using his cellphone. The officials have suggested that Shaikh was in constant touch with his handler on Whatsapp wherein they have explicitly mentioned the name of Zadafia as target. The fifth and sixth videos show four ATS officials speaking to the receptionist around 1:58 am on August 19 just moments before the operation began. The face of the accused and that of all four officers are clearly visible in the footage as none of them are wearing masks. "We have checked the CCTV footage to tally the version given by the receptionist and hotel staff. Now we are probing local connection in the case," said the official. Shaikh has been booked under IPC 307 for attempt to murder, UAPA act and arms act in an FIR lodged at Gujarat ATS police station.
