Dawood’s brother held for Dubai druglord’s murder

Intelligence reports in India corroborate the theory that Gogha’s murder was masterminded by the Anees Ibrahim, Abu Salem, Chhota Shakeel and Sharad Shetty faction.

The reports say that Dawood had infact left his safehouse in Karachi and made a trip to Dubai to effect a patch-up late last month. But to no avail.Soon after that, Gogha struck a deal with a Gujarat-based businessman and agriculturist to smuggle gold into India from Dubai, for which the latter had promised to pay Rs 3 crore. However, after Gogha sent the gold into the country, markets crashed worldwide and sent gold prices plunging. The businessman reneged on the deal but a furious Gogha ordered his men to collect Rs 6 crore from him. The money was sent to Dubai via Hong Kong. In fact, the Banagalore police recently arrested three of Gogha’s men in connection with the recovery of money.

Intelligence agencies believe Gogha was killed at the behest of the Gujarat-based businessman to settle the score.

Thirty-one-year-old Gogha, whose name is a mutated form of the sobriquet goonga (he is mute), hails from Saraimir village, which is also Abu Salem’s village in Uttar Pradesh. Gogha began his career in crime in his home state with offenceslike smuggling and attempt to murder. Later, he specialised in abducting businessmen for ransom.

He was also a close associate of gangster Babloo Srivastava. The duo was at one time closely associated with Nepal-based underworld don Mirza Dilshad Beg, a frontman of Dawood Ibrahim who was shot dead in Nepal a few months ago.

Gogha is a suspect in the shootout of a Mumbai-based marketing executive Rajesh Pillai, employed by Allied Deal Int Ltd, a New Delhi-based firm in NOIDA. Pillai was shot and wounded in his office at Fort on Nov 2.In 1995, Gogha’s aides had made an abortive attempt to kidnap industrialist Ashok Mittal from Nariman Point.

In 1994, his men had abducted a Mumbai-based jeweller who was taken to Delhi for ransom. The jeweller, who couldn’t pay up, was allowed to go.

Gogha is also believed to have masterminded the abduction of R D Vyas, owner of a Mehndi bar and restaurant at Sahar in 1997. The abduction was executed by Manisha Sharma, an underworld moll, and Gogha’s other associates.In her statement to the police, Sharma confessed to having links with Gogha.

For Anees, this is not the first arrest. He had been arrested by the Bahrain police at Bahrain airport in early 1996 in connection with the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts case following a red alert by Interpol. After being in custody for about four days he was arrested by the Dubai police which took him into their custody in connection with a cheque-bouncing case. It is believed that the arrest by the Dubai police was staged-managed by Dawood himself since Bahrain is a friendly country while India does not have an extradition treaty with Dubai.

Sharad Shetty alias Anna still wields his clout in Mumbai’s north-western suburbs. In 1996, he had ordered the murder of hotelier Ramnath Payyade on Borivli. He is suspected to be linked to Rama Naik, mentor of Mumbai-based gangster Arun Gawli.

Govt to seek deportation

INDORE: Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today said his government is seeking deportation of gangsters holed up inDubai for which an extradition treaty is proposed to be signed with the United Arab Emirates.“This is part of urgent measures being taken by the government to curb mafia activities in the country,” he told reporters here.. “Some progress has been made towards signing an extradition treaty with the UAE government. “However, a few problems are still to be sorted out,” said Vajpayee.