Former 'D' man behind shootout?

Crime Branch sleuths suspect Ubed-ur-Rehman may have been weaned away from the D-company by an intel agency that trained him to leave no whiff of evidence behind

Forty-eight hours after the sensational shootout at India's most wanted gangster Dawood Ibrahim's stronghold at Bori Mohalla in Bhendi Bazaar aimed at doing in his brother Iqbal Kaskar, investigators are narrowing down on the possibility that it could be the handiwork of mastermind Ubed-ur-Rehman, police sources said yesterday.


Crime Branch officials are questioning Bilal Sayyed (29) and Indralal Khatri (28), currently in police custody, to confirm who hired them

Insiders said that Indian intelligence agencies could have managed to wean away Rehman from the fold of the D-company and use him against Dawood.

This had made the task of the Mumbai Police even more difficult. "We are still trying to find the mastermind who hired the two shooters," said State Home Minister RR Patil last evening.

Crime Branch officials are questioning Bilal Sayyed (29) and Indralal Khatri (28), currently in police custody, to confirm who hired them. The findings are being ascertained, officials said.

Police sources informed that the way Rehman is operating confirms the fact that he has been trained by a prime intelligence agency.
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He has not left any trace behind him for the Mumbai police to close in on him. The task of tracking Rehman over the past few years has badgered cops because of his elusive presence.

He does not use mobile phones, nor does he make calls to his relatives at Nagpada. He uses a satellite phone, which is beyond the bounds of Mumbai police, sources informed.

Sources informed that Rehman goes into hibernation after every killing. He surfaces again to take aim at another target in the next six months.

Changing camps?
Incidentally, some of Rehman's close kin are Dawood Ibrahim's neighbours.

His family lived across the road from Dawood's headquarters in the city, a nondescript building at Nagpada, the hotbed of crime in central Mumbai.

It is suspected that Rehman had colluded with Dawood's rival Chhota Rajan to finish off Kaskar. But at the same time, there are reasons to believe he could have been indoctrinated with 'deshbhakti' by a central intelligence agency that coached him to work for it.

Muscling his way
It is also believed that Rehman has been asked to organise special plots in and around Bhendi Bazaar and Nagpada, leading officials to believe that his identity is not even known to other members of the Chhota Rajan gang.

Given the furtive operations, it would not be surprising if Rehman did mastermind the killings of Zahidbhai alias Chhote Mian and Irfan Chindi and injured Asif Dadi in shootouts between 2009 and 2010, sources said.

It is also likely that Rajan may try to muscle his way into the large-scale redevelopment projects in and around Dongri, Nagpada and Bhendi Bazaar with the killing of Arif Sayyed alias Bail.

With Kaskar trying for a lion's share in the real estate in South Mumbai, especially in Dongri-Nagapada-Agripada belt, which is undergoing a complete makeover, the constant police surveillance is likely to hamper his business, said senior police officials.

However, underworld insiders fear that the incident may be exploited by hirelings to bump off suspects to gain loyalty and move closer to the don, Dawood. This may result in a killing spree by the underworld, mostly to settle personal scores under the guise of "pledging loyalty" to the D-gang.

The Indian intelligence has managed to map the positions of some of the D-company gangsters after the killing of Arif Bail. Some of the gangsters have made calls to India to declare that they will avenge the killing of one of their gang members.

Dawood and key henchmen are hibernating for the past few months. The shootout at his former residence and stronghold was expected to evoke reactions.

The Indian intelligence was seriously anticipating a reaction from Dawood to the effect of ordering his henchmen to hit back at rivals.