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Journalism of Courage
KOLKATA, JAN 10: In two successive breakthroughs on Tuesday night, the Kolkata Police detective department arrested Abdul Rouf, a close associate of Mumbai underworld don Chhota Shakeel and prime accused in the murder of music baron Gulshan Kumar, and two leaders of Jamat-ul-Mujahideen, a militant outfit of Kashmir from a hideout in the city.
Both the arrests were described as ‘‘significant catches’’ by the police, and reiterated the apprehension that Kolkata continued to be a safe shelter for many of the terrorist and banned outfits in the country.
A senior Kolkata police official today said that Rouf had confessed of being a part of the team that shot at Chhota Rajan in Bangkok. According to police sources, Rouf admitted of having fired seven shots at Gulshan Kumar during the attack. In their endeavour, the Kolkata police were helped by Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir police whose teams were in the city, on the look-out for those involved in the Red Fort attack last month that saw three dead.
Rouf was produced at the Bankshall court and remanded to police custody till January 20. According to Additional Commissioner (II) Kolkata Police, S.I.S. Ahmad, Rouf confessed that he had received orders from his ‘‘boss’’ Chhota Shakeel, who himself is a close associate of Dubai-based don Dawood Ibrahim, to move to Mumbai in a couple of days to liquidate an ‘‘important film personality’’. Though Ahmed did not disclose the name of the film personality, sources from the department told The Indian Express that it was film star Hrithik Roshan the gangster was zeroing on. ‘‘We have passed on the information to Mumbai police and a team from there is coming to Kolkata to interrogate the man,’’ Ahmed said.
Narrating the events that led to the arrest of Rouf, who had been staying in Kolkata for the past two months with his wife, Ahmed said: ‘‘We came to know that the gangster was receiving money through a private bank and we lay a trap.’’ Ahmed said.
In the other incident, the police picked up Nasir Ahmed and Jakir Ahmed, both Jamat-ul-Mujahideen leaders from Kashmir. They were based in Kolkata ‘‘organizing transit facilities’’ for Mujahideen leaders from Kashmir.
