Nashik arms haul: Accused have 31 cases against them in Mumbai

The first case against Khan, a Mumbai resident, was filed in 2012, when he was just 14 years old, said police

Salman Ammanulla Khan, 19, and Badrinujam Badshah alias Sumit alias Suka, 27, who were arrested by the Nashik police for possession of arms on Friday, have a criminal background.

What the Nashik police seized from the accused. (HT File)

The first case against Khan was filed in 2012, when he was just 14 years old, said police. More than 11 cases have been filed against him for extortion, possession of weapons, threats and sodomy. Since 2005, the RAK Marg, Bhoiwada, Wadala TT and Mulund police have arrested Suka several times. More than 20 cases have been filed against him.

Bhagwat Bansod, senior inspector, RAK Marg police station said Suka is a notorious criminal, who was arrested several times in connection with cases of extortion and threatening, “Suka’s family lives in Abbaseen House. He and his elder brother have been identified as local goons, who have been caught with weapons,” said Bansod. Khan is a Wadala resident.

His mother sells coconut water on the roadside. “Suka and Khan live in different neighbourhoods and were not acquainted. The met through a middleman, who is wanted by Mumbai anti-terrorism squad, crime branch and the local police,” said an officer.

Crime branch officers said the men had been meeting at a one-room ‘kholi’ above a Sewri school over the past month to plan the loot. Officers said Suka and his brother travelled to Uttar Pradesh, from where they would get weapons to be sold in Mumbai and other parts of the country. “Suka’s relatives live in Pakistan. According to our information, the brothers contacted them regularly and had even visited them more than once,” said police.

Police are now on the lookout for the middleman, who was the mastermind behind the robbery. They are tracing the people who were to pick up the weapons once they reached Mumbai. “We are questioning those who were in close touch with Suka and Khan, including the woman who cooked for them in Sewri,” added the officer.