New Delhi, July 05: The special cell of Delhi Police on Friday arrested seven alleged henchmen of underworld don Chhota Shakeel who were in Delhi reportedly on a mission to kill a prominent lawyer. While the police refused to divulge the names of those arrested due to operational reasons, they confirmed that the seven were in the capital to avenge the death of Rashid Malabari’s lawyer, Naushad Kasim, who was killed in Bangalore in April this year.
Sources said that six of the contract killers were arrested on Thursday from different parts of the capital, while the seventh was nabbed on Saturday. Police said that four of the accused came from Mumbai on the instruction of Chhota Shakeel and were being provided logistical support in Delhi by three others. Four sophisticated weapons besides Rs 1 lakh cash were seized from them.
Those arrested on Thursday were produced before duty magistrate Twinkle Wadhwa on Saturday and sent to police remand of seven days. Questioning of the accused revealed that they were instructed by one of Shakeel’s close aides in Mumbai to eliminate a prominent lawyer who represented a political leader recently.
“We need to find out other people who provided them logistical support. The four killers reportedly came to Delhi three days ago and were staying at different places. They were supposed to execute the killing on Sunday,” claimed an officer.
A senior police officer on the condition of anonymity said, “The seven were here to avenge Kasim’s murder by killing the lawyer of a prominent political leader.” The police have beefed up the lawyer’s security suspecting more members of the gang to be on the loose. A case under appropriate sections has been registered at special cell police station in Lodhi Colony.
—Agencies