MUMBAI, JUNE 26: Stepping up the heat on the underworld, police killed a notorious gangster and injured another, a TADA detenue, in separate encounters this morning. While Dubai-based Abu Salem's key associate, Salim Ahmed Khan alias Lal Topi, was gunned down near Pratiksha Tower on R S Nimkar Marg around 12.30 am today, Ilyas Magrur Saddique was injured seriously when he was ambushed by a Special Operation Squad of the Crime Branch near Mahim Phatak.The first encounter, in fact, took place under quite dramatic circumstances. Senior Inspector Rafiq Sheikh attached to the Nagpada police station said yesterday afternoon Khan had managed to escape when his hideout at Shuklaji Street in Central Mumbai was raided by a special squad. Four of his associates were, however, nabbed and a stolen Maruti was recovered. After interrogating his associates, police once again set out on Khan's trail.Their persistence paid when Khan was spotted near Bachu Bhai ki Wadi around mid-night driving in a white Maruti. Whenpolice tried to stop the vehicle, he sped down the R S Nimkar Marg. ``I recognised Khan because I had dealt with him in a robbery case earlier,'' recalled Sheikh. The police team intercepted the car near Pratiksha Tower and asked Khan to surrender. He instead fired two rounds at the police party in a bid to escape.Police officer Satish Mayekar, Sachin Kadam and Anand Chavan retaliated by firing two rounds each at Khan injuring him seriously. He was rushed to the Nair Hospital, where he was declared dead before admission. Police recovered a Mauser revolver and three live rounds from him. They also found a map in his pocket which indicated that the gang was planning to rob jewellery shops, including the famous Tribhovandas Zaveri showroom.Zone II Deputy Commissioner of Police, Param Bir Singh, said Khan, 37, was involved in over 50 reported and unreported cases and was jailed for 14 years. Khan had also made an abortive attempt to escape from the Thane Jail in 1996. Khan's four associates arrestedyesterday have been identified as Sajid Sheikh, Atik Ansari, Akbar Mansuri and Siddique.In the second encounter, police were tipped off that Ilyas Magrur Saddique was meeting one Samir near Senawalla Compound in Mahim. A trap was laid and armed cops took position near Babu Communication Centre where the two were to meet. Both arrived just minutes after each other around 4.30 am. However, as the policemen were closing in on their target, the duo sensed their presence and fired three rounds. A constable then fired three rounds at Siddique from his 9 mm service pistol, said the police. While Siddique was seriously injured in the firing, his accomplice escaped under the cover of darkness. Siddique was rushed to the LMT Hospital at Sion. Last reports coming in said his condition was stable.
