No Shakeel or Rajan in CBI’s new wanted list

S Ahmed Ali TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Mumbai: More than a month after it was left shamefaced for sharing a flawed list of ‘most wanted men’ with Pakistan, the CBI has uploaded an updated list on its website.

Unlike the earlier list which had names of those dead or jailed or those living in comfort at their home, the new list, at least on the face of it, does not contain any errors.

It mentions names like Dawood Ibrahim, his brother Anees, his trusted lieutenant Aftab Bhatki, 1993 blasts accused Tiger Memon and Ayub Memon besides Ahmed Mohammed Dossa, Riyaz Khatri and Azam Cheema. And, all importantly, it prunes the number of wanted men against whom red-corner notices have been issued to 159 from more than 300. There is one surprise, though. Names like Chhota Rajan, Iqbal Mirchi, Chhota Shakeel, Hemant Pujari, Ravi Pujari and Ejaz Lakdawala have been left out.


GANGSTA BRIGADE

• The CBI had taken the most wanted list off its website after TOI exposed flaws in it

• The updated list has 159 names, down from 300, but provides more details

• Gangsters like Iqbal Mirchi, Hemant Pujari, Ravi Pujari and Ejaz Lakdawala find no mention

Mob boss is now known as Shaikh Dawood Hassan
Mumbai: The CBI’s updated list on most wanted men has thrown up some surprises.

On May 17, the CBI was left red-faced when The Times of India exposed that one of the men on its most wanted list, Wazhul Kamar Khan, was living in Thane. The blooper, home minister P Chidambaram explained, was a “genuine oversight” and a “human error”.

It later transpired that there were more flaws in the list. Among those who continued to show up as wanted accused were Feroze Abdul Rashid Khan alias Ferozuddin alias Hamza, a 1993 bomb blast accused who was in Arthur Road jail since 2010; Dawood’s elder brother Noora, who died of kidney failure in Karachi last year; and Chhota Rajan aide Ejaz Pathan, who died in 2008 at Arthur Road jail after a heart attack.
As a result of the continual embarrassment, the CBI took the list off its site.

Perhaps to make amends for its past mistakes, the central agency has made the new listing more detailed. nstead of Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar, it gives Dawood’s name as Shaikh Dawood Hassan because, according to sources, this is the name on his new passport. The list also gives Dawood’s exact date and place of birth besides the cases he is wanted for.

“Take counterfeit currency king Aftab Bhatki for example. The CBI has not only given his date of birth but also the detail that he ‘wears dentures with two or three gold teeth in upper left section’,” said an official.

CBI spokesperson Dirian Mishra said on Thursday: “An updated list has been put on the website after a careful study of each case with the help of states. We have now asked all state police heads to keep us posted on developments regarding the most wanted... whether they have been arrested or are reported to be dead.”
Asked about the names missing from the new list, Mishra said, “It is still being updated. I cannot talk about any specific cases.”

TOP OF THE LIST
ANEES IBRAHIM KASKAR | Dawood’s younger brother, Anees moves wherever his infamous sibling goes. In D-gang’s hierarchy, he ranks only behind Dawood and Chhota Shakeel

IBRAHIM MEMON AKA TIGER MEMON |
He was one of the key conspirators behind the ’93 Mumbai blasts. Memon arranged the finances, recruited men for the job, and helped in transporting the explosives

AYUB MEMON | Like his brother Ibrahim, Ayub too conspired in the ’93 blasts. His scooter was later found abandoned at Worli, packed with explosives

AZAM CHEEMA | He played a major role in the formation of terror outfit Indian Mujahideen. Cheema is believed to have indoctrinated many young men from Mumbai, Pune and Azamgarh in terrorism

DAWOOD IBRAHIM KASKAR | The son of a head constable, Dawood has about 42 cases pending against him, including for counterfeiting currency, trans-national crime, terrorism

AFTAB BHATKI | The son of a Crawford Market trader, he got into illegal currency exchange and soon began working for Dawood. Bhatki is now considered a lynchpin of the counterfeit currency
trade

Dawood & Chhota Rajan

Oddly, few names are left off list

CBI Makes Amends By Giving Details Of Most Wanted

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Mumbai: The Central Bureau of nvestigation (CBI) has strangey left out many top names from the updated version of its most wanted’ list. Many expected the investigative agency to include gangsters such as Chhota Rajan, Hemant Puari, Ravi Pujari, Ejaz Lakdawala and Guru Satam besides ndian Mujahideen members Riyaz Bhatkal and Iqbal Bhatkal n its revised list of most wanted people against whom red-corner notices have been issued. But these names are missing CBI spokesperson Dirian Mishra explains, “The list is not complete. We are still updating it.” The CBI was forced to revise its roll of most wanted fugitives after The Times of India exposed that one of the men n it, Wazhul Kamar Khan, was living in Thane. This was followed by more embarrassments. Another most wanted accused, Feroze Abdul Rashid Khan alias Ferozuddin alias Hamza, was found in Arthur Road jail. And yet another, Dawood’s elder brother, Noora, had died of kidney failure in Karachi in 2010. A police officer says, “I suppose we cannot catch Dawood and his aides because Pakistan is protecting them. But what stops us from catching Chhoa Rajan? Is it because of his close ties with an intelligence agency of our country?” Rajan began his career in the world of crime as a small-time black marketeer who sold movie tickets at inflated rates outside a cinema hall n Tilak Nagar in Mumbai. When he got more clout, he expanded his area of functioning to the eastern and northern suburbs. To get yet more support, he joined hands with the D-gang. This was until their famous split later.

Rajan’s story is quite different from gangster Ejaz Lakdawala’s. Lakdawala, who is believed to be in hiding in Bangkok, fled India after the Mumbai police tightened the noose around him. In 2003, he was shot at in Bangkok while on a shopping spree with his wife and two-yearold daughter Shifa. He narrowly escaped the attack.

WANTED, UNLISTED

RAJENDRA NIKHALJE ALIAS CHHOTA RAJAN | Once a black marketeer, Rajan quickly rose through the underworld’s ranks after joining the gang of Bada Rajan. When Bada Rajan got murdered, Rajan started working with Dawood. This alliance continued until their famous split. Rajan is currently wanted in 17 murder cases and several more attempted murders

HEMANT PUJARI | He started out in Rajan’s gang by doing petty crimes before parting ways years later. He eventually had to go into hiding after an attack on his life

RAVI PUJARI | Another old Rajan foot soldier, Pujari has been trying to make his mark in the Mumbai underworld for long. According to the police, he uses young men hired from other states to kill targets in the city. Many times, he has paid as little as Rs 15,000 for a killing

EJAZ LAKDAWALA | Another member of Rajan’s gang, Lakdawala split from his mentor years ago. In the ’90s, he frequently called up Bollywood stars to extort big sums. A year ago, he had a narrow escape when some gunmen opened firing at him in South Africa

RIYAZ BHATKAL | Bhatkal started as a petty criminal with the Fahim Machmach gang, but later formed his own group under the name R N (R for Riyaz and N for Niyaz). The police say he was indoctrinated by brothers Amir and Asif Raza, and, in 2002, he formed an Indian Mujahideen module

The Times of India, July 8, 2011