Mumbai, Nov 20: The Mumbai Police Crime Branch on Thursday afternoon gunned down a key aide of fugitive gangster Chhota Shakeel in an encounter in Borivili. Imran Jhingada played a key role in the Shakeel gang’s Mumbai operations and his death would deal a major blow to the gang, the police said.
“A Crime Branch team today killed gangster Imran Jhingada alias Imran Jogeshwari and an associate identified as Sameer in an encounter in Borivili. A trap had been laid for the two and when the police closed in on them five rounds were fired on the team by the duo. This was returned with six rounds in which the two were killed,” said ACP (Crime) Deven Bharti.
Jhingada is the brother of notorious gangster Munna Jhingada, who was linked to the team that nearly killed Chhota Rajan in Bangkok on September 15, 2000, but who was discharged by the Royal Thai Police.
“Twelve to 13 offences have been registered against Imran Jhingada in the city, most of them pertaining to extortion from builders. He was also involved in weapons supply for the Chhota Shakeel gang. Imran was the main person for the Shakeel gang in Mumbai. He has traveled to Malaysia and Bangkok in the past,” said Bharti.
Police said a team led by 26/11 terror attack martyr Vijay Salaskar had led a team in an attempt to flush out Imran from his hideout in Jogeshwari two years ago, but met with stiff resistance.
The encounter followed the arrest of Shakeel’s lieutenant Arif Mirza Baig by the Crime Branch. Baig was arrested from Dreamland Cinema in Girgaum on Sunday afternoon after he had been deported from Colombo for overstaying.
The police said Baig was responsible for a spate of murders in 1998 including those of Chhota Rajan aide Haji Mukhtar, Raees Kashmiri, customs officer Farukh Batata and Bharat Mhatre.
–Agencies