Delhi police apparently refused to share details of FIR registered in case; in retaliation, Mumbai force seems to have refused to share intel gathered from two men it arrested
The ATS office
The Union home ministry is likely to transfer the case of a terror module busted by the Special Cell of Delhi police to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) owing to its tussle with the Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS). The two agencies are at loggerheads over the Special Cell not keeping ATS in the loop about Dharavi resident Jan Mohammed Shaikh’s arrest. Over the weekend, the ATS arrested two more people in connection with the case but did not hand them over to the Special Cell.
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The ATS registered a fresh case citing non-cooperation from the Special Cell. The case has been registered under Section 18 of the UAPA. While of the accused, Zakir Hussain Shaikh, was picked up from Jogeshwari, and another, Rizwan lbrahim Momin, was picked up from Mumbra.
Terror suspect Jan Mohammed Shaikh, alias Sameer Kaliya
According to the ATS, Momin allegedly destroyed a cellphone that had crucial information. “During custodial interrogation, it was revealed that he was receiving instructions from his handlers located in a foreign country. During the search of his house, certain incriminating documents were found. Shaikh’s phone was broken and thrown into a drain near his residence. The broken pieces were recovered on Sunday,” an ATS press release claimed.
The ATS asked for only two days’ custody for Shaikh, who was arrested on Saturday, while Momin, arrested on Sunday, was remanded to one day's police custody. Both were sent to judicial custody on Monday. While Shaikh was interrogated for two days, Momin was questioned for a few hours.
Linked terror module case?
“We don’t know what Delhi Special Cell’s case is as they are not sharing the FIR with us. We will seek further custody when required,” a senior ATS officer said. After the arrested, a special meeting was organised at the Delhi police headquarters over the terror module busted by the Special Cell. The heads of 11 state ATSes, including Maharashtra’s, attended the meet.
Jan’s house at Social Nagar, Dharavi, on Wednesday. Pic/Shadab Khan
According to sources in the ATS, Shaikh lives with his wife in Behram Bagh, Jogeshwari and drives a rickshaw. According to Mumbai police sources, he works for Dawood Ibrahim’s gang and three extortion cases were registered against him by the Anti-Extortion Cell in 2001, 2007 and 2015.
According to the ATS, he was in touch with someone named Anthony who resides in a country neighbouring India. The name is supposed to be a codename and Shaikh’s is supposed to be ‘chacha’. He used to work as a recruiter on Anthony’s instructions and look for unemployed people. Jan, who was arrested by Delhi Police, was also in contact with Shaikh. When Jan was called to Delhi, he got '1.5 lakh through hawala, of which he gave '25,000 to Shaikh.
After hearing of Jan’s arrest, Shaikh allegedly contacted Momin and asked him to delete his mobile’s data. They met at Momin’s Mumbra house where he broke Shaikh’s mobile and threw it in the drain.
Momin and his wife are teachers who take private classes. They used to reside in Bandra and took up residence in a colony named Avon Noori Residency. The colony’s residents said that they do not know anything about the couple. “We don’t know when they came to live here,” a resident said. Another resident of the neighbourhood said, “Police had been visiting in plain clothes for three days. Then we came to know that this couple lives here.”
An ATS source said, “When Shaikh visited Momin a few days ago, he spoke to Anthony using his mobile. After Jan’s arrest, Shaikh wanted to flee. Which is why he left his Behram Bagh with his passport, passbook and other identification documents,” the source added.
6
No. of men arrested by the Special Cell in its case
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