Main accused in Gazebo firing case arrested

According to crime branch officials, Sayyad and his associates fled from the spot on their motorbike, reached Bandra station, where they abandoned the two-wheeler, and then left the city in a train. Sayyad was hiding out in Aurangabad

Mumbai: The main accused in the firing outside Gazebo Shopping Centre in Khar, Arbaz Sayyad, was arrested by the Mumbai police as soon as he returned to Mumbai after hiding out in Aurangabad for the past two months.

Mumbai, India - August 11, 2022: Police officials investigate at the site after three unidentified persons fire three rounds outside the Gazebo Shopping Centre on Linking Road, Khar, in Mumbai, India, on Thursday, August 11, 2022. (Photo by Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times) (Satish Bate/HT PHOTO)

A team from the Crime Branch unit 9 arrested Sayyed on October 28, an officer who was part of the investigation said.

On August 11, at around 7.45pm three men, including Sayyad, fired a few rounds at the board of the shopping centre from a country-made pistol. The men left a note written in Hindi threatening to kill the hawkers doing business outside the centre.

According to crime branch officials, Sayyad and his associates fled from the spot on their motorbike, reached Bandra station, where they abandoned the two-wheeler, and then left the city in a train. Sayyad was hiding out in Aurangabad.

The Khar police, where the case was registered, arrested three other accused including Sayyad’s cousin Sharik Shaikh (24). While Shaikh was arrested on August 16, two others, Noor Shaikh, 19, and Rohan Tambe, 22, were arrested on August 23.

The Khar police scrutinized CCTV footage outside the shopping centre as well as from other areas in Khar and Bandra. This helped them identify the make of the bike which they eventually found abandoned outside at Bandra railway station.

A probe revealed that the shooting was the result of a rivalry between gangs who wanted to take control over hawking in the area, which began after a local resident keen to put up his stall outside the centre fought with a hawker over the issue, a crime branch police officer said.

According to the officer, Sayyad fled the city with a few thousand rupees and did odd jobs in Aurangabad to survive. He eventually contacted his family members and requested them to send him some money.

The crime branch team, which was assisting the Khar police in its investigations, caught wind of the transfers and traced Sayyad’s location. However, when a crime branch team reached Aurangabad on October 27, he was on his way back to Mumbai, CB police inspector Sanjay Khatade said.

Another crime branch team nabbed Sayyed on Friday evening and handed him over to the Khar police station Khatade, said.

All four accused are residents of Khar Danda area in Santacruz and are suspected to be part of a group of hawkers who wanted to retain their stalls outside Gazebo, said the crime branch officer quoted above. Sayyad resorted to firing to create an atmosphere of fear, the officer added.