Mumbai: The Anti-terrorist Squad of Maharashtra officials reached Delhi to share information about Jaan Mohammed Shaikh alias Sameer Kaliya, one of the six terror suspects arrested by the Delhi Special Cell recently. The ATS claims Shaikh was already on their radar.
Vineet Agarwal, Additional Director General of Police, confirmed about the team visiting the resident of Shaikh in Sion. “Our team searched his residence and did not find anything. Shaikh was on our radar like other criminals of the city, but the central agencies did not share information with us about him. As they shared the information with the Delhi Police, he was arrested. We have already recorded a statement of the family members including his wife and two kids, that will be further shared by our officials in Delhi,” added Agarwal during a press conference at the Mumbai ATS office.
The police said Shaikh, an OLA driver, has around two non-cognizable cases of power theft registered against him in Dharavi. “Shaikh, who has been silently spending time with his family, destroying his past criminal record. In 2001 he was involved in firing at the office of a businessman in South Mumbai. A case was registered regarding the same at Pydhonie police station and Shaikh was arrested. He was acquitted later with lack of evidence,” said an officer from the ATS.
The investigation agencies during the primary investigation found Shaikh partially involved in the extortion and firing of a business or freelancer for the D-company. “Shaikh was said to be in touch with Fahim Machmach, the close aide and loyalist of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. If any kind of extortion of firing Mahmach used to call Shaikh and he used to work for him. But Shaikh has not been in any activity from the past more than one of two decades. We suspect after the death of Mahmach recently, Shaikh may have been contacted by Anees Ibrahim, brother of Dawood,” said a police officer from the ATS.
Neighbors who tell Shaikh to be innocent saw him Monday roaming around in the vicinity. However, as per the agencies, Shaikh had approached a travel agent on September 10 and had transferred funds to book a ticket to travel to Delhi on September 13. “The agent too was called for an investigation and in his statement, he revealed that a ticket of sleeper class in the Golden Temple mail was booked for Shaikh. It was also found out that Shaikh had lost his job two months ago and was driving a cab since then. He also took loans to buy a taxi so that he could look after his family,” said a police officer.
The police said the Mumbai-based Jaan Mohammed was apprehended from near Kota, Rajasthan while he was on his way to Delhi. The investigation agency during interrogation had revealed that this module had received sophisticated RDX-based IEDs, grenades, pistols, and cartridges from a sleeper cell operative and the items were sent to UP for safe concealment. Thereafter, underworld operative Jaan Mohammed Shaikh along with Moolchand alias Anju was tasked by Pakistan-based Anees Ibrahim to receive the same in Delhi. The same was to be handed over to other terror operatives in Delhi and Mumbai and other parts of the country,” said a police officer.
The police said they all were tasked separately to execute different aspects of the terror plan. However, by arresting the six involved, the Delhi Special Cell busted a high-caliber Pakistan-trained terror module.
