Rajan bought ship to ferry Shetty’s killers to Dubai

It should also go some way in addressing the rumblings among Indian agencies that Dubai doesn’t do enough to stop the movement of the underworld.

During interrogation, Madhu Uttapan and Balu Kevat described how the four gunmen — now in the custody of the Dubai police — slipped into the Emirate when the ship, the M T Meera, entered Dubai harbour on the pretext of repairs.

It isn’t clear if the captain of the Meena was aware of the plot.

The four assassins, two Indians and two Nepalese, stalked Dawood’s key associate Sharad Shetty, or bada idli as he was known, and finally riddled him with 17 bullets outside the Indian club in downtown Dubai.

The four men were caught by the Dubai police before they could make it back to the tanker. The vessel was detained by port authorities and the assassins charged with Shetty’s murder.

The two suspects arrested today were being charged for extortion, said Deputy Commissioner of Police Pradip Sawant. However, investigations revealed that Uttapan, considered close to Chhota Rajan’s trusted lieutenant Balu Dokre, had purchased the oil tanker used in transporting the assassins.

The deal, perhaps financed by two unidentified businessmen from New Delhi, was finalised in Singapore.

The brain behind the transnational movement of assassins is Rajan’s top aide Santosh Shetty, the police said. Also known as Rajesh Madan Sharma, he owns a hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Officers in the crime branch here say Shetty has moved to the second-in-command position in the Rajan gang. He helped Rajan escape from a Bangkok hospital after an assassination attempt.