Rajkot: D-Company's contract killing bid foiled as police nab shooters

Rajkot: A sharp-shooter owing allegiance to the Dawood Ibrahim gang and three others were arrested from city outskirts today, when they were allegedly on their way to eliminate a Jamnagar based businessman on direction's of Pakistan based underworld don's brother Anees, police said.

Anees Ibrahim, who looks after the illegal business of Dawood is believed to be based in Pakistan, had given a contract to kill Jamnagar based businessman to one Ramdas Rahane and others for Rs 10 lakhs, police said.

"Rahane and his three accomplices were coming to Rajkot in a private bus to kill the businessman, who runs a construction company in Jamnagar," Rajkot city DCP S R Odedara who led the team to nab shooters said.

The businessman has been identified as one Ashfaq Khatri, he said adding that he is also associated with shipping business.

"We kept a close vigil near Kuvadava town on Rajkot-Ahmedabad national highway, as we had received inputs that four suspicious persons are travelling in a private bus from Maharashtra," he said.

"While searching the bus, four of them were spotted in a suspicious manner and on searching their luggage, a pistol, six live cartridges, two knives and fake number plates having vehicle registration numbers of GJ (Gujarat) and MH (Maharashtra) series were found," the DCP said.

"During the initial interrogation we learnt that Anees Ibrahim had given a contract to kill the businessman to Ramdas for a payment of Rs 10 lakhs," the DCP said.

"Ramdas is a contract killer of the D-Gang and is facing several criminal charges in Maharashtra," the official said.

"It was also revealed during interrogation that they had planned to steal a vehicle after reaching Jamnagar, change the number plates with fake ones which they were carrying and execute the crime, before returning to Maharashtra," Rajkot police commissioner Anupamsinh Gehlot, who supervised the entire operation said.

Ramdas is believed to be allegedly involved in many shooting incidents in Mumbai. His name had also cropped up in a firing incident at the office of builder Manish Dholakiya in 2011 in which a guard was killed. He has spent some time in jail as well.

"We are verifying the claims made by the sharp shooters during initial interrogation," Odedara said. The police has however not revealed names of three other persons they have arrested.

Meanwhile, a team of Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) will also interrogate these shooters who received contract killing assignment from Pakistan.