Maoist rocket expert was on gangster Nayeem's team in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: Former Maoist, Tech Madhu, the brain behind rocket launchers developed by the Maoists, was part of Nayeem’s gang. He has been named as accused A-16 in the case by the Vanasthalipuram police of Cyberabad.

Sources said Tech Madhu alias Thota Kumara Swamy alias Ashok has now been taken into custody by officials and is being interrogated for his links with Nayeem.

The remand report of Vanasthalipuram police said that Nayeem’s driver Nella Sridhar Goud, a resident of Bhavani Enclave in Injapur and native of Samastha-narayanapur in Nalgonda, ‘procured newborn babies and handed over to A-16 Tech Madhu to give to A-1 Nayeem, who would use the babies as cover for avoiding police checking”.

Police had earlier arrested the driver and P. Balaram of Saroornagar in this case.

A top intelligence official said, “Tech Madhu had teamed up with Nayeem a year ago. Nayeem usually would approach former Maoists and make them join his gang by luring them or by force. Madhu might have helped Nayeem in procuring and maintaining weapons like AK-47s. But there is no evidence to prove that Nayeem was using him to make weapons.”

As a Maoist, Tech Madhu had made 1,600 rockets and launchers in Chennai. He had surrendered before the Warangal police in 2006.

In 1990, he had joined Peoples War and later became the technical wing of the Maoist central committee. The Tamil Nadu Q Branch had tried to nab him after they found that he had supervised an organised arms procurement network and was running seven foundries including his own Bharath Fine Engineering to make spare parts to assemble rockets and launchers.

In 2002, he had got his Engineering diploma in Ambatthur, Chennai. Later he returned to Nallamalai and was in touch with top ranking Maoists like Shakamuri Appa Rao to design rockets.

Brother Naeem and his wife surrender in court

Renegade Naxal Nayeem’s brother Faheem aka Taimur and his wife Sajeeda Shaheen surrendered before the Rajendra Nagar court on Friday evening. They were sent to judicial remand for 14 days.

Faheem has been named second accused and Shaheen eighth in the FIR filed by the SIT. The charges against Faheem are of assisting Nayeem in his illegal activities of arms procurement, extortion etc. Shaheen is accused of helping Faheem.

Sources said SIT had seized cash and arms from the house used by the couple during raids and they had been absconding. To avoid arrest, they appeared before the court with a lawyer.

Earlier, his wife was arrested and sent to custody. His younger sister Ayesha Begum and mother Thahera Begum have not been arrested as the police has not come up with any charges against them.

Two realtors and aides of Nayeem arrested

Special Operation Team (SIT) officials from Cyberabad East arrested two associates of Nayeemuddin on Friday.

The accused, realtors Modi Ramesh (35) and Md Nawab (45), used to help Nayeem in land settlements on the city’s outskirts. They also used to carry out their own settlements and earn crores.

In one single deal with a businessman named Jaya Reddy, they extorted more than Rs 1. 4 crore.

One of the suspects was also a private financier, who extorted huge interest from poor people. They used Nayeem’s name to threaten their rivals.

According to police, Nawab had a real estate business in Maheshwaram mandal of Ranga Reddy district.

He became friends with Nayeem’s close aide Bhongir Shakeel (who has since died of a heart attack), and later met Nayeem through him.

“Shakeel and Nayeem had an eye for the real estate business in Maheshwaram mandal and they instructed Nawab to find out cases wherein there were disputes between parties. During one business transaction, Nawab met Ramesh, who then joined the gang,” said additional DCP E. Ramchandra Reddy.

“In one case, they settled a land dispute between an RMP doctor named Yadaiah from Maheswaram and a businessman named Jaya Reddy. They called up Jaya Reddy and threatened to kill him if he didn’t settle the matter. They took Nayeem’s name and asked him to pay up.

On two occasions they collected a total of Rs 60 lakh from Jaya Reddy. During the same period, Jaya Reddy sold his 21 acre of land in Porandla to his neighbour Ravi Teja for a hefty price.

When Ramesh came to know about this, he informed Nawab who immediately contacted Jaya Reddy and demanded a large sum as he had made good profits in the land sale.

Capitulating under the threats, Jaya Reddy paid Rs 80 lakh to Nawab and the money was shared by Nawab, Shakeel and Ramesh,” said the additional DCP.

Officials said that Nawab also took money from an NRI relative of his and started lending it to needy people on high interest. He also extorted money from those victims taking Nayeem’s name.