Businessman behind Dey murder? 3 held

WHEELS OF DEATH: The car which was allegedly used to transport journalist J Dey’s killers

S Ahmed Ali, Mateen Hafeez & Vijay V Singh TNN

Mumbai: The Mumbai police on Wednesday detained three suspects, including the shooter, in the murder of journalist J Dey. Two of them, Mateen Shaikh (25) and Anwar Hatela (35), suspected members of the Chhota Shakeel gang, were picked up from Mumbra in Thane
district. The third, Sayyed Nadeem (34) alias Bobby, is a police informer. A Maruti Zen belonging to Anwar, which was used as a getaway car by the assailants, has also been traced.

Police suspect that Dey was shot dead on Saturday by four bike-borne persons at the instance of a south Mumbai businessman who is into smuggling of red sandalwood. Police sources said the supari was worth around Rs 70,000.

However, senior home department officials remained tight-lipped about the developments and said that a clear picture was yet to emerge.

Chhota Shakeel, an associate of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim, denied his involvement. “I have nothing against Dey. I was never affected by Dey’s writings. Why should I kill an innocent person?” Shakeel said. He told TOI over phone from an undisclosed location that a senior police officer had sought his help in the case. “Now, I am surprised that my name is linked to the killing. I do not know Shaikh or Hatela,” he said.

Dey may’ve been offered 10L to kill smuggling story Journalist Planned Report On Illegal Sandalwood Trade; Teams Sent To Pune, Chandrapur To Trace Conspirators
The Mumbai police are questioning three suspects in the J Dey murder case. Investigations, said sources, point to the role of a south Mumbai businessman who trades in red sandalwood. “Dey was working on a story that could have exposed his illegal trade. The businessman, using his underworld contacts, executed the murder. This is one of the key motives that has emerged from our interrogation,” a cop said. The businessman offered Rs 10 lakh to get the story suppressed through police informer Bobby, but Dey refused to accept it, the officer said.

The police picked up the three suspects on Wednesday morning based on information
gathered from informers and intelligence inputs. They are now grilling them to unearth the conspiracy and trace their accomplices. Police teams have left for Pune and Chandrapur to hunt for the other conspirators. Police are also probing whether Dey was killed because of the stories that he planned to write on a senior cop’s links with Dawood Ibrahim.

Police said they suspect Bobby acted as a middleman between Dey and the businessman. “Bobby provided information on the businessman to Dey. He then approached the businessman and tipped him off about Dey’s plans to write a story on him. The businessman told Bobby that he was willing to pay Rs 10 lakh to Dey if he dropped the story.”

Police said they are gathering details on Mateen and Anwar. Anwar’s brother, Arif Kalia, a key member of the Chhota Shakeel gang, was shot dead in 1998 in a police encounter, sources said.

The police are also trying to trace Gujarat-born suspect Haji, involved in at least three murder and attempt-to-murder cases. “He was seen in Mumbai a day before Dey’s killling. After Dey was shot dead, Haji is learned to have headed towards Pune,” said a source.

Haji, said sources, met the businessman last week. It is not clear whether Haji organized the shooters. “The businessman came from Dubai to Mumbai two weeks ago and a day before Dey’s killing, he left India for Dubai again,” said a source. The businessman’s uncle and a south Mumbai politician are business partners.

“Bobby had informed Dey that a consignment would be sent abroad as fruits from Nhava Sheva port. But it actually contained red sandalwood,” said the source. It is also alleged that Bobby met Dey on June 10, a day before he was shot, to identify their target.

BJP for fair probe
New Delhi: Expressing “deep concern” that no headway had been made in the probe into the killing of senior journalist J Dey, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday demanded that the case be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation. In a letter to Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, BJP chief Nitin Gadkari said that following media reports alleging some cops’ involvement in the killing, it has become all the more important that the probe be handed over, to be carried out “in an unbiased manner and in a credible way”. TNN

A condolence meet for the slain scribe in the city

Informant who helped Dey being questioned

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

The Mumbai police’s crime branch is questioning an informant, Sayyed Nadeem alias Bobby, in connection with the murder of journalist J Dey. Thirty-four-year-old Bobby is a resident of Damar Lane at Mohammed Ali Road and is also known by his other aliases Paglajaan, Sayyed Sahab, Jada Seth and Raghu. The son of a small-time businessman, he studied in Habeeb High School at Dongri before dropping out when he flunked in standard VIII. In 1998, he fortuitously escaped an attempt on life when the gunman mistook Bobby’s friend for him. The friend, however, died from the gunshot wounds. Over the years, several cases have been registered against Bobby, though he was discharged in two of them. As an informant, Bobby was in constant touch with police officers and several journalists. He reportedly came in touch with Dey two years ago, after which he frequently shared information with the senior crime reporter. The state’s Anti-Terrorism Squad recently seized about a dozen firearms acting on a tipoff given by Bobby. A few days prior to Dey’s killing, Bobby had visited the ATS’ Nagpada office to meet a senior police officer. He works as a site supervisor for a real estate developer.

Nadeem Sayyed alias Bobby


The Times of India, June 16, 2011