Thane cops to send AK-56 found at Dawood aides home for forensic tests

Sanjay Dutt

The Thane police are investigating whether the AK-56 they recovered from the house of Naeem Khan on Saturday is the same that Sanjay Dutt returned to him before the 1993 blasts.

While Naeem's wife Yasmin was arrested after the recovery, as she was at home when the rifle was found, officers also plan to take custody of Naeem, who is currently lodged in Thane Central Jail, for questioning.

'Huge cache of arms'
The recovery happened after the arrest and interrogation of two men in a drug bust on Saturday, who revealed about a "huge cache of arms" kept at the house of Naeem, once a close aide of Dawood.

A source said, "Naeem Khan collected two AK-56 from Dutt before the 1993 blasts. The police suspect that the recovered one is among those. To confirm this, they are going to send it for forensic testing and then match the report with those submitted in Dutt's case at that time."

Police says
Inspector, Anti-Extortion Cell, Pradeep Sharma said, "We are going to take Naeem's custody soon to find out where the rifle came from... We have already started the procedure to send the AK-56 to a forensic lab."

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