Nashik arms haul key accused may have links with Dawood’s gang
The Sewri resident told investigators that he owed allegiance to the D-Company and that he had planned to soon start his own gang.
The four people, including two Mumbai residents, who robbed an arms and ammunition shop in Uttar Pradesh and were later arrested in Nashik on Friday, are likely to have links with underworld don Dawood Ibrahim’s gang, said investigators.
According to Mumbai police officers, who are currently in Nashik, one of the accused – Badrudin Juman Badshah, 27, a resident of Sewri – told investigators that he owed allegiance to the D-Company and that he had planned to soon start his own gang.
Officials have taken serious note of Badrudin’s claims as his call data records show regular phone calls to Pakistan. Investigators, however, are still verifying the call records to identify the people he called, as Badrudin has told them he has relatives in Pakistan.
The disclosure, however, has prompted several agencies, including the Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad (ATS), Mumbai police crime branch, Uttar Pradesh special task force (STF) and the Intelligence Bureau (IB), to send officials to Nashik to interrogate the accused.
The interstate arms racket was busted after Nashik rural police seized a large quantity of arms on the Agra-Mumbai highway on Friday. They seized 25 rifles, including one machine gun, 19 revolvers, 44 guns and 4,136 live cartridges. Three people have been arrested. Officials said they suspect the arms were to be delivered to an unknown person in Mumbai.
The accused had looted a company called Punjab Armoury at Pillikothi area of Banda district in Uttar Pradesh and were on their way to Mumbai via Kanpur when they were arrested.
The police seized the weapons at a toll naka on Friday after the accused filled diesel at a fuel pump, but refused to pay, and instead threatened the staff at gun point before fleeing from the spot. The staff informed the police station, which in-turn called the control room and a nakabandi was announced.
The accused were caught from a stolen vehicle registered in Mumbai.
When they were caught, Badrudin apologised to the police personnel and told them that he had made a mistake as he was under the influence of alcohol. He offered them ₹11,000 to let him go. The police personnel, however, conducted a search and found a revolver on Badrudin and took all the three accused to Oza police station where a search of the entire vehicle was conducted, and the arms and ammunition were seized.
Badrudin, who is a hardened criminal and knows police interrogation techniques, has been tight lipped about the robbery and the motive behind the robbery.