Have you seen this 'informer'?

Cops are on the lookout for Afzal Pani, who, if nabbed, may expose an unholy nexus with several top city cops

A successful and spirited stint of sleuthing has inadvertently landed the Mumbai police in a tight spot. After successfully calling informer Afzal Pani's bluff, it now has to probe the alleged links of its own men with the former. The Bandra police have launched a manhunt for the notorious informer who allegedly tried to frame two Kutch-based men in an arms case.


Wanted: Afzal Pani, a notorious informer, has allegedly tried to frame
two Kutch-based men in an illegal arms case. File pic

But the police's capture and investigation of the man may cause a few skeletons to tumble out of its own closet. If it succeeds in nabbing the informer in its dragnet, the police run the risk of Pani spilling the beans on how he used some of the city's top cops to spread his own fiefdom in the city. "Names of several policemen, both senior and junior may come emerge in his revelations about the unholy nexus between the law enforcers and the informers," said an informer.

After a case was registered against him with the Bandra police, Pani was booked for plying the police with false information, in an attempt to frame two Kutch-based men. The investigators smelt a rat and traced the source of the false information to Pani. Though he is currently on the run, several police teams have been fanned out to trace him.

Friends in high places
Pani is known for his notorious links in the informers' circles. He reportedly often cites his links with several prominent policemen to blackmail targets and extort money from them. "He is notorious for clicking pictures, taking videos and then blackmailing the targets for money," said a police informer, on condition of anonymity. He has even spoken of his close association with a senior officer of the Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS), to other members of his community.

"We will investigate all of Pani's reported links as well the allegations that have been levelled against him," said Amitabh Gupta, additional commissioner of police, Western Region. "He tried to mislead our officers, but our alert cops recognised that it was an attempt to frame the person. We will arrest him soon," added Gupta.

One of Pani's key associates in the police leagues has been identified as Anilbhai, posted with the SoBo police for the past decade. There are other officers in police stations at Pydhonie, Byculla, Dongri, Bandra, Andheri and even the elite crime branch unit at the headquarters. In fact, Pani has an army of reporters on his pay roll.
He has known to have repeatedly planted stories in several leading newspapers over the past few years.
A senior police officer disclosed that he had been keeping track of Pani's phone records to detect which police officers he was liaising with. There was a possibility of them being called in for questioning soon, the officer added.

True (sounding) lies?
Pani wove a diabolical web of lies to frame a Gujarati duo in an arms case. The arrested accused Riaz Kashmiri, a school dropout, told investigators that he needed Rs 1.5 lakh for the treatment of his ailing mother. So he approached Pani, who assured to help him in return for a small favour. Pani handed Kashmiri two revolvers, a few bullets, a photograph and a scrap of paper, asking him to stand at specific spot in Bandra.
u00a0
He then arranged for one of his men to call the police and raise the alarm about an armed man lurking in Bandra. Pani instructed Kashmiri to disclose, in course of his interrogation, that he had been supplied the arms by Kimji Sarang and Sumara Zafar Adam of the u00a0Kutch region. The police would then arrest the duo and Kashmiri would be released on bail after a while. The police learnt that Pani was paid a sum of Rs 10 lakh as supari to frame the duo.

Latest
In a late night operation by a team of Bandra police station, Pani's residence in Mazgaon was raided and a cache of CDs, audio/video tapes, and a list of contacts have been seized.