Four days after a shootout bid was reported in Kashimira, the police arrested the shooter on Tuesday. According to the police, the incident was reported from the outlet of International Baking Company located in the busy Kashimira Junction area. The accused, who was later identified as Akbar Ali Shafique Shaikh, 28, a resident of Dharavi, wearing a helmet walked into the bakery and pointed a revolver on the present employees.
Despite several attempts, the revolver failed to fire, following which the shooter fled the spot along with the biker who was waiting outside. The entire sequence of events was captured in the closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras installed in the bakery owned by Ibrahim Patel. Several teams were deputed to track the accused and ascertain the motive behind the shootout bid. Based on CCTV footages and technical surveillance, the team apprehended Shaikh. However, his accomplice and the mastermind who ordered the hit are still on large.
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While the bike and pistol used in the crime are yet to be recovered, the duo are said to be hardcore criminals with serious offences registered against them in Mumbai and acted on behest of orders given by their master.
It is suspected that the plan was apparently to scare the owner of the bakery owing to a dispute over property and illegal gutka trade which is brazenly flourishing in the region.
“A detailed probe was on to ascertain the exact motive behind the shootout bid,” said an officer who is privy to investigations. Meanwhile, Shaikh was remanded to police custody till October 20 after he was produced before the district sessions court, Thane. Further investigations and attempts to nab his accomplice and mastermind were underway.
