Dawood aide’s call returns to haunt senior Gujarat cop

Pandian says that Mammumiyan, deported on December 8 from Dubai, called him up in 2002 asking him to go easy on the probe—transcripts of the conversations are with The Indian Express.

When contacted, Pandian confirms that he did receive calls from Mammumiyan. ‘‘On the midnight of August 5, 2002, I received the first call and then the same day in the morning from Dubai by a caller claiming to be Mammumiyan. The location of the call and its content made me believe it was Mammu as no other person could have such details.’’

Sharma denies he ever called Mammumiyan. ‘‘It is totally, completely and absolutely wrong,’’ he told The Indian Express.

Says DGP Bhargav: ‘‘We will get (the tape) tested and if the voice spectograph proves it is Mammumian’s voice, it will be investigated. It is very premature to comment.” Police records say that Mammumian—who is in the custody of Jamnagar police now—was a landing agent for Dawood Ibrahim, received at least three consignments of arms and explosives off the coast of Porbandar just before the Bombay blasts in March 1993.

What raises questions about the role of police officers are two curious moves:

• One, the hurry to initiate extradition—a long and tortuous procedure—when security agencies were already trying to deport Mammumian. This, sources said, was done to delay Mammumian’s return.

• Two, how the police in 1993 returned Mammumian’s vehicle, a Tata Sierra, which allegedly carried the arms.

The present Superintendent of Police, Porbandar, Ajay Chaudhary admits that a proposal for extradition was moved just days before Mammumian’s deportation. When asked why, he said: ‘‘Please ask the senior officials who took the decision as it is a very sensitive issue.’’

More intriguing is the story of the Tata Sierra. On the night of February 6, 1993, off the coast about 30 km from Porbandar, Mammumian received his third consignment in a month by vessel Al-sada-Bahar—300 pieces of silver and suspected arms and explosives.

This was seized by the police soon after its landing and four trucks, of which two carried silver, were impounded. However, the police did not seize Mammumian’s vehicle (a white Tata Sierra) though it was found from the same spot.

The vehicle mysteriously found its way back to Mammumian after the police got it running with the help of a mechanic.

In his conversation with Pandian, Mammumian claimed he had paid local policemen Rs 70,000 through one of his gang members and it was the police who got him the car back the next day.

Mammumian’s trusted aide Chunilal Devji and his driver Hanif were later arrested. Their statements, recorded by Pandian, reveal that then Superintendent of Police, Porbandar, H P Singh and Police Inspector N N Pathan were both present at the spot when the Tata Sierra was found. Sub-Inspector Manu Shamji Malvi, who was guarding the vehicle, admitted that the police knew the vehicle belonged to Mammumian.

When contacted, H P Singh, who is now Inspector General of Police (Armed Units), said: ‘‘I know only about the trucks. I do not remember anything about a Tata Sierra. Off-hand, I can’t tell you if it was found there as it has been so many years…We seized some trucks in February, found silver hidden. I do not think there were any arms in those consignments.’’

His chief Bhargav disagrees: ‘‘Weapons did land. I was in Intelligence at that time and know most of the story.’’