Gunrunner, wanted for involvement in plan to kill Kashmiri activist, held

The arrested man, identified as Hazi Shamim and popularly known as Shamim Pistol, was arrested from UP’s Muzaffarnagar on Wednesday

A 55-year-old alleged gunrunner from Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh was arrested by the special cell with five pistols and 20 cartridges on Wednesday, police said Friday.

The accused was arrested after the special cell team received information about his presence in Muzaffarnagar. (Picture for representation only)

He was wanted for his involvement in a case of conspiracy to kill a Kashmiri social activist, in which his role as the supplier of weapons emerged during an investigation, police said on Friday.

The arrested man, identified as Hazi Shamim and popularly known as Shamim Pistol among gunrunners, was arrested on Wednesday from Muzaffarnagar, after the special cell team received information about his presence in the city, police said.

On February 26 last year, Delhi Police had claimed they had averted an assassination plot on human rights activist Sushil Pandit after arresting two alleged contract killers Sukhvinder Singh, 26, and Lakhan Rajput, 22, from Delhi’s RK Puram.

The two had disclosed that they were hired by one Prince Kumar alias Tuti. They were promised ₹10 lakh each for killing the activist, they said. The special cell had registered a case and later arrested three more alleged conspirators – Tuti, Jagdeep alias Kaka and Rohit Chaudhary.

Their interrogation revealed that Chaudhary’s brother Rahul, who was a constable in the Indian Army and an expert in drone handling, was arrested by the Punjab Police for his alleged role in smuggling narcotic drugs into India from Pakistan using drones. When Rahul was in jail, Chaudhary was contacted by some persons from Pakistan (who involved him in drug trafficking) through one Randeep alias Romi, a member of banned terrorist outfit Khalistan Zindabad Force, said deputy commissioner of police (special cell) Pramod Singh Kushwah.

“A resident of Punjab, Romi also runs an international drug syndicate. He has been on the run since 2014 and is hiding abroad. Romi assigned the task of killing the Kashmiri social activist to Chaudhary, who asked his associate Jagdeep alias Kaka to arrange someone to do so, and offered him ₹50 lakh. Kaka had already murdered someone in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, on Chaudhary’s instructions,” said DCP Kushwah.

According to the DCP, Kaka wanted to complete the job but Chaudhary suggested that the murder should be committed by someone else so that they are not linked to the killing. Kaka took the help of Tuti, who hired Sukhvinder and Rajput. The two came to Delhi and were provided with firearms and ammunition and a photo of the target. However, the two were arrested before they could finish the job, the police said.

“Our probe revealed that the weapons and bullets were supplied by Hazi Shamim. He attempted anticipatory bail after learning about the arrest of Chaudhary, but it was rejected. Shamim went on the run and a non-bailable warrant was issued against him. He was arrested on January 19,” added the DCP.