No encounter stains on khaki in 2011

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

The year ends on a positive note for Mumbai Police: it is the first year since 1991 without any ‘encounters’.

The absence of even a single encounter death in 2011 is in sharp contrast to the situation a decade ago when 94 encounter killings took place.

Since 2001, the city police gunned down 272 suspected gangsters and terrorists. The Chhota Rajan gang was crippled as 97 of its members were killed in encounters, the Dawood Ibrahim gang lost 46. Police records show only seven gangsters were killed in 2010. “As most dreaded gangsters have either been killed or fled the city, there is no need for stern action (like encounters) against petty criminals,” said a senior crime branch official.

But a major reason why 2011 has been encounter-free is because encounter specialists had their wings clipped as the courts took a tough stand against such killings. Over the years, mumbai Police lost several cops responsible for the infamous killings. Three inspectors — Vijay Salaskar, Pradip Sharma and Praful Bhosale — were credited with 99% of the encounter killings. But while Salaskar was killed during 26/11, Sharma was arrested in connection with a staged encounter and Bhosale held for the suspected encounter killing of blast accused Khwaja Yunus. Bhosale, though, was later cleared of charges and reinstated. Two other cops were not so lucky. Sachin Waze was suspended and later resigned from the force, while senior inspector Arun Borude, on the run after being accused of a minor’s rape, allegedly committed suicide in December 2010.

“During the 90s and early 2000, the underworld had forced the police to take the extreme step of killing them. Dozens of businessmen, developers and film personalities were killed for extortion and the gangsters tried to create panic among everyone. However, timely police action crippled the gangs,” said a policeman. A senior officer added, “Encounters are not pre-planned. At least four suspects who were injured in encounters were rushed to hospitals and were saved.”

While encounters have been on every year since 1991, the decade began with the killing of four youths in their early 20s, near Patwardhan Garden, Bandra. Police claimed they were planning to kill Ashutosh Gowarikar, director of Lagaan which released that year, and the film’s lead actor Aamir Khan, at the behest of gangster Abu Salem.

The most controversial recent encounter was of Ramnarayan Gupta alias Lakhan Bhaiyya, in 2006. Senior inspector Pradip Suryavanshi is in jail in the case.

In 2008, an 18-year-old youth, Mohammed Imran, was killed in an encounter in Powai along with one Chandrakant Sahni. The crime branch claimed the duo was planning to kill a developer. Imran’s family said he was mentally challenged, but the crime branch claimed it had “recordings” of his conversation with Sahni, who they said was a gangster.

The Times of India, December 31, 2011

Ishrat case: CBI team to visit Malegaon

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The CBI team probing the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case will soon visit Malegaon. After shooting Ishrat and three others, the Gujarat police in 2004 claimed that the 18-year-old along with another deceased had stayed at a Malegaon hotel and they were part of a Lashkar-e-Taiba module.

The Gujarat police had then said that Ishrat and another deceased Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai had stayed in Hotel Radhika where they hatched plans for anti-national activities. The police had alleged that those killed in the encounter were on a mission to eliminate Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi.

It will take some time to decide on the arrest of the suspects. “The special investigation team inquired into the case for almost two-and-ahalf years. We have got some papers from them. However, we have to start our investigation afresh and ascertain everyone’s role,” said a police source. “The initial documents are in Gujarati. We have to translate them to understand and then fix a direction for the investigation as per the evidence,” the officer said.

“First we have to see why the police personnel believed that Ishrat was a terrorist. Did they have any reliable information about her involvement anywhere? Once we get answers of all these questions, we will decide the further course of action,” the officer added.

The Times of India, December 21, 2011

Fugitive gangster shot dead by cops

ON THE SPOT: Mangesh Narkar had gone to Chembur to extort money from a businessman when he was gunned down

Mateen Hafeez & Vijay V Singh TNN

Mumbai: An absconding gangster, who had given the police the slip early in October while being shifted from one prison to another, was shot dead in a police encounter at Chembur in the wee hours of Sunday.

Mangesh Narkar (30) had gone to Central Avenue Road in Chembur around 4 am to extort money from a businessman when he was cornered. According to the police, they had received a tip-off on Narkar’s plan to come to Chembur to collect the money and accordingly laid a trap. Even though the police ordered him to surrender, Narkar tried to flee and in the process, started firing at the personnel from his countrymade pistol. In retaliation, the policemen shot at him, injuring him fatally. Narkar was taken to Rajawadi Hospital where the doctors pronounced him dead. Not a single policeman was injured.

Narkar used to work as a peon in a book-binding shop at Hanuman Industrial Estate in Wadala in 1993-94 when he quit his job to step into the crime world by joining a gang of robbers. A few years down the line, he formed his own gang of robbers and in 2007, they looted a jewellery shop at Nipani in Belgaum. For that, he landed behind the bars after the property cell of the city crime branch arrested him. The next year, after he came out of the jail, Narkar, along with an associate, Sachin Khambe, a murder convict, hatched a plot conspiracy to extort money from Krishna Shetty, owner of a bar and restaurant in Mumbai. The duo shot at Shetty and his employee, injuring them critically. The police soon picked up Narkar, booked him for attempt to murder and sentenced him to life imprisonment. On October 6, the MCOCA court ordered to transfer him and Khambe from Taloja to Nashik jail. While being shifted, Narkar, along with his aide, threw chilly powder at the policemen’s eyes and fled. Though his associate was caught within a few hours, Narkar had remained untraced till Sunday.

Incidentally, Narkar’s escape kicked off a furore in the police circles as the cops, instead of ferrying the two convicts in an official van, was taking him by train and then an auto. Apparently, the team had reached Nashik Road railway station and some of the policemen had gone looking for an autorickshaw when Narkar and his aide made their escape.

Narkar also had 11 other serious offences registered against him with the crime branch, Vakola police, RAK Marg police, Mahim police, MRA Marg police, N M Joshi Marg, Belgaum police and Nashik police.

The Times of India, November 1, 2010

Pradeep Sharma ‘aide’ Suryavanshi’s bail plea rejected

GUPTA ENCOUNTER CASE

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Mumbai: A sessions court on Thursday rejected the bail applications of suspended senior police inspector Pradeep Suryavanshi and three others in the Ramnarayan Gupta encounter case. Suryavanshi and five other police officers have been arrested for allegedly killing Gupta in a fake encounter at Andheri in November 2006.

The six arrested police officers include erstwhile encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma. Sharma too has sought bail and the court has reserved the order on his application.

The encounter team had alleged that Gupta was a close aide of gangster Chhota Rajan and working on behalf of the fugitive don. Gupta’s brother, advocate R V Gupta, after the encounter, moved the Bombay high court, stating that the encounter was staged and that he had informed the then police commissioner and other police officials through fax that Gupta was picked up by the police. The high court then asked the state to set up a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the matter.

Court also rejected the bail applications of Shailendra Pande, Aqueel Khan and Mannu Mohan Raj. According to Gupta’s brother, the three were Pradip Sharma’s informers who picked up his brother on the day of alleged fake encounter and handed him over to Sharma’s team.

The Times of India, May 14, 2010

Pradeep Sharma ‘aide’ Suryavanshi’s bail plea rejected

GUPTA ENCOUNTER CASE

Pradeep Sharma ‘aide’ Suryavanshi’s bail plea rejected

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Mumbai: A sessions court on Thursday rejected the bail applications of suspended senior police inspector Pradeep Suryavanshi and three others in the Ramnarayan Gupta encounter case. Suryavanshi and five other police officers have been arrested for allegedly killing Gupta in a fake encounter at Andheri in November 2006.

The six arrested police officers include erstwhile encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma. Sharma too has sought bail and the court has reserved the order on his application.

The encounter team had alleged that Gupta was a close aide of gangster Chhota Rajan and working on behalf of the fugitive don. Gupta’s brother, advocate R V Gupta, after the encounter, moved the Bombay high court, stating that the encounter was staged and that he had informed the then police commissioner and other police officials through fax that Gupta was picked up by the police. The high court then asked the state to set up a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the matter.

Court also rejected the bail applications of Shailendra Pande, Aqueel Khan and Mannu Mohan Raj. According to Gupta’s brother, the three were Pradip Sharma’s informers who picked up his brother on the day of alleged fake encounter and handed him over to Sharma’s team.

The Times of India, May 14, 2010

Chhota Shakeel man gunned down by cops

Mateen Hafeez I TNN

Mumbai: A 30-year-old suspected member of the Chhota Shakeel gang was gunned down by the crime branch early just after midnight on Friday at Deonar near Govandi. The gangster, Sunil Mandal alias Sunil Bangali, was accused in 14 cases, including murder, said the police.

According to crime branch chief Rakesh Maria, the encounter took place around 12.30 am on Saturday near Sambhaji Nagar Ujjwal Cooperative Housing Society. “We received a tip-off that Bangali would be coming to the spot to meet his associates. Our police team laid a trap and on spotting him, ordered him to surrender. However, Bangali fired four rounds at the police team from his 7.65 mm pistol. In retaliation, the policemen also shot four rounds at Bangali, who fell to the ground. A bleeding Bangali was taken to Rajawadi Hospital where the doctors pronounced him dead,’’ said Maria.

Incidentally, currently, two police officers, inspectors Pradip Sharma and Pradip Suryavanshi, are facing the charges of killing Ramnarayan Gupta, allegedly a Chhota Rajan aide, in a fake encounter.

According to Maria, Bangali worked for the Chhota Shakeel gang. “He was first arrested in 2003 in connection with an assault case. While in prison, he came in touch with Chhota Shakeel gang members and started working for them. His primary job was to threaten people and collect extortion money,’’ said Maria.

“He entered the crime world as a petty goon and later graduated to become an extortionist and a sharp shooter,’’ an officer said. He would take orders from Chhota Shakeel and contact “targets’’ to extort money from them.

“In 2006, Bangali was arrested for killing a person with a firearm. Besides, a rioting case, three attempt-to-murder and three extortion cases have been registered
against him in the various police stations,’’ said a crime branch officer. Bangali, the police said, was wanted in a case of kidnapping for ransom and also arrested in a case under the Arms Act. However, in most cases, he would get released on bail.
mateen.hafeez@timesgroup.com

The Times of India, March 14, 2010

Common plot in all encounters

Police Report In Nine Cases Say All Criminals Were Shot Dead, Aides Fled

Mateen Hafeez I TNN

Mumbai: Many of the encounters carried out by senior inspector Pradip Suryavanshi—currently under the scanner in the Ramnarayan Gupta “encounter’’ case—have several common threads tying them together, say investigators of the current case.

At least, nine encounters led by Suryavanshi, all of which took place between January 2005 and February 2006, saw one standard line in the police reports. “One criminal was killed but his accomplice managed to escape,’’ the reports said, besides the other standard one-liner for encounters: “The gangster opened fire and the police retaliated.’’

So all the nine encounters saw the criminal being killed after he came to the spot with one associate. But another even stranger common point unites all these nine encounters: the police have bever been able to trace or identify a single “escaped accomplice’’ in the past four years. All the operations, state police records, took place between 11 pm and 2 am. In every case, the accused would ride into the police trap either on a motorbike or in an autorickshaw.

No senior police official volunteered any comment on the coincidences and Suryavanshi’s phone has been out of reach for some time.

But the coincidences have not gone unnoticed. Officials said personnel from at least four police stations would participate in every encounter to nab the accused. An official asked, “Can you tell me how a person can escape from the spot where more than 10 police officers are working together in an operation?’’

Suryavanshi is a wanted accused in the alleged staged encounter of Ramnarayan Gupta alias Lakhan Bhaiyya, who was shot dead in Versova on 11 November 2006. Suryavanshi is currently on sick leave but three of his colleagues, including encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma, are behind bars. The last of the nine encounters took place in the first week of February 2006. Aslam Meraj Shaikh, a robber of the Taliban gang, was killed at the Lotus Junction in JVPD on February 8.

SOME OF THE GREAT ESCAPES

July 7, 2005: Pandav Putra gang chief Sandeep Deshmukh is shot dead near Bandra Reclamation; his associate flees

August 25, 2005: Robber Irshad Shaikh is killed in Oshiwara; his aide escapes

Sept 14, 2005: Alleged Chhota Rajan gangster Sanjay Nirmal is killed on Mahakali Caves Road in Andheri; his aide slips away

Oct 5, 2005: Robber Nisar Ahmed Shaikh alias Munna is killed in Juhu; his accomplice flees.

Dec 6, 2005: Robber Mangesh Sawant is killed in an encounter; his accomplice flees

The Times of India, January 2010

Killed Shakeel man had just come out of jail

Ayyub Shaikh

Mateen Hafeez I TNN

Mumbai: Alleged Chhota Shakeel gangster Ayyub Shaikh , alias Ayyub Petrol (34), who was g u n n e d down on T h u r s d ay night near Kala Ghoda, had left his Pydhonie residence at 8.45 pm saying he would return for dinner after meeting his friends. An hour later his family was informed that Ayyub was injured in a police encounter. Ayyub used to rob people to buy narcotics for himself, the police said.

“His friend, Waseem, who is also a police informer, went to Ayyub’s residence and asked him to go somewhere. Ayyub told his wife that he would have dinner once he came back. However, he never returned. A taxi driver came to Ayyub’s residence to inform that Ayyub was injured in police firing. My brother has been killed in a staged encounter,’’ alleged Ayyub’s cousin Rehan Shaikh.

For MRA Marg police officials, who killed him, Ayyub was a dreaded criminal. “He was involved in 34 cases, including robbery, dacoity and rape, and was booked under the Maharashtra Dangerous Person’s Act (MPDA) six times. He was active in JJ and Pydhoine areas and used to work for Chhota Shakeel,’’ said senior inspector Sunil Babar.

Ayyub is survived by his wife, mother and three daughters. “He was released 20 days ago from the Arthur Road jail, where he spent one-and-a-half years. During that period, his seven-year-old son, Javed, and a new-born baby died. Two weeks back, he promised that he would not commit any crime again and was working hard to support his family. We don’t know why the police killed him when he was involved in earning livelihood by selling scrap and vegetables in the market,’’ said Hashim Shaikh, another relative.

The police,however,said that Ayyub, along with an accomplice, was riding a bike when a police team asked them to stop around 9.30 pm. But Ayyub opened fire at the police, and he was killed in the subsequent exchange of fire, the police said. “His aide managed to flee,’’ senior inspector Babar said. But the family is not convinced with the police version. How and from where did Ayyub manage to get a bike and a revolver within an hour of his leaving home, they asked. “Had he been working for Shakeel, he would not have been living in a 6x8 ft shanty made of bamboo sticks and polythene sheet. He did not even have money to buy medicine for his ailing daughter. Also, how did his socalled accomplice manage to flee?’’ asked a relative.

Family protests at police station
Mumbai: The family of alleged Chhota Shakeel aide Ayyub Shaikh staged a protest on the premises of the MRA Marg police station on Friday claiming that he was killed in a fake encounter. “The police killed my cousin last night but we are still waiting to claim his body, even at 6 pm. The cops are not giving us a proper response and are claiming that they are busy completing formalities,’’ Hashim Shaikh, a relative said. The family was eventually handed over the body late on Friday evening.

The Times of India, January 6, 2007

One killed, others fled: Encounter reports add a line

In at least nine encounters, the accomplices have managed to escape

By Mateen Hafeez/TNN

Mumbai: Police encounters have got a twist. In addition to the standard ‘the gangster opened fire and the police retaliated’, a special police squad in nine separate encounters since January 1, 2005, after each hit has said that “the accomplice, however, managed to escape’’. Interestingly, all those who allegedly fled from the encounter spot have neither been identified nor caught.

The squad was formed by then additional commissioner of police, Param Bir Singh and last year out of 12 encounters in the city, the squad bagged the credit for eight. Police records of all the nine encounters state the “accused opened fire and the police retaliated. One of the accused was killed while the others escaped.’’ “We try to nab all the aides, but they manage to flee,’’ an officer of the squad said.

On October 14, 2005, the squad shot down Sunil Shinde alias Batla, an alleged accomplice of gangster Faheem Machmach, who police alleged had once collected Rs 25 lakh from a businessman on behalf of the gangster. However, Batla’s family rebutted this. “My son had a vada pav stall at Mazgaon which the BMC employees took away since he could not bribe them. He was without a job for two months,’’ Batla’s father, Narayan Shinde, had told TOI. Police said Batla’s accomplice who had come in a rickshaw ran away during the encounter.

Last week, Aslam Meraj Shaikh, (24), a robber of the Taliban gang, was killed by the squad. The police claimed Shaikh along with two members came near Lotus Junction at JVPD on February 8 to rob a bank and both the associates managed to flee on a bike. Shaikh sustained two bullet injuries and was declared dead on admission to the hospital.

It’s a coincidence that has raised eyebrows. Sources said that officers of at least four police stations participate in every encounter and so they can take all precautionary measures to nab an accused. “How can a person escape from the encounter spot where more than 10 police officers work together in an operation? They could trail the fleeing accused but it never happens. Is this difficult for officers of four police stations from the same zone?’’ asked a senior officer.

Param Bir Singh (now IG) said he did not remember any accomplices fleeing from the encounter spots. “I will have to check the facts from the records,’’ he said.

DCP Amitabh Gupta, in whose jurisdiction (Bandra-Oshiwara) maximum robbers were killed by the squad, refused to comment on the coincidence.

Noted criminal lawyer Majeed Memon said there is always a suspicion that encounters are staged. “Every encounter is said to be an extra-judicial killing by human rights activists. The Bombay high court in the infamous Javed Fauda case has set a list of dos and don’ts for cops involved in encounters. To win the public’s confidence, the police must account for every encounter in the light of those guidelines. When we find that every encounter is similar to the previous one and monotonous in nature, the suspicion of it being fake becomes belief,’’ Memon said.

One of the officers in this squad, inspector Raju Pillai, was conferred the prestigious Police Medal for meritorious service on Republic Day this year. Sub-inspector Dhananjay Daund is said to be behind 20 encounters. The others include inspector Pradip Suryavanshi and assistant inspector Sarvankar of the D N Nagar police, assistant inspector Jagdish Sail (Juhu police), subinspector Juvekar from west region control.

THE GREAT ESCAPES

July 7, 2005: Pandav Putra gang chief Sandeep Deshmukh, (30), shot dead near Bandra Reclamation. His associate fled.
August 25, 2005: Robber Irshad Chand Miya Shaikh, was killed in Oshiwara. His aide managed to escape.
Sept 14, 2005: An alleged Chhota Rajan gangster, Sanjay Nirmal, was killed at Mahakali Road in Andheri. His aide gave police the slip.
Oct 5, 2005: A robber Nisar Ahmed Shaikh alias Munna, (32), was killed in Juhu. In this case too, his accomplice fled.
Dec 6, 2005: Robber, Mangesh Sawant (32), was killed in encounter. t During separate encounters of robbers Raju Baze and Subhash Hadkar last year, their accomplices also fled

The Times of India, February 15, 2006

Killed criminal not all that ‘feared’

Sunil Narayan Shinde alias Batla

By Mateen Hafeez/TNN

Mumbai: After his death in a police “encounter’’ on October 14, Sunil Narayan Shinde alias Batla was proclaimed a “dreaded criminal’’ by the force that killed him. But it was a very different story when he lived.

The same force did not find anything so “dreaded’’ about Batla then. He was recruited by the Chhota Shakeel gang “to provide information about builders and businessmen’’, officials said, admitting there was not even one case of murder or attempt to murder against him. Batla’s death near Rizvi College in Bandra was the 10th encounter death this year.

Officials said Batla, a smalltime crook who was mostly booked for thefts and break-ins in the 1990s, came in touch with a Chhota Shakeel gang member outside a city court a couple of years back. He was initially offered the job of a “tipper’’, officials said; he was asked to keep tabs on big businessmen and builders with several projects.

He was allaged to have done a couple of jobs for the Dubaibased Faheem Machmach of the Dawood Ibrahim gang.

But the first time he came on the anti-extortion cell’s radar was in early 2004 when he came to collect Rs 50 lakh from a builder near the zoo in Byculla. Batla and two others were arrested in this case and a countrymade revolver was seized from them.

He got bail but the anti-extortion cell started looking for him again when he called up another builder who stayed near Nana Chowk; Batla apparently asked the builder from where he should collect Rs 25 lakh on behalf of Machmach. The next case against Batla was registered in 2005 after he allegedly threatened a businessman for Rs 15 lakh. But, again, he did not come to collect the money.

There were a few other cases against him. The Byculla police arrested him in 1993, when he was just 14, for stealing a ceiling fan. Batla was sent to the Dongri juvenile remand home where he was kept for six months and was released. The Byculla police registered another case against him in 1994; he was allegedly involved in a break-in at a Mazgaon home and fled with Rs 27,500. The police recovered Rs 9,000.

He was alleged to have stolen a three-wheeler part in 1997 and, in 1999, he was alleged to have broken into a house in the jurisdiction of L T Marg police station. He was arrested with two colleagues but was later released on bail.

The next case against him was for extortion (again in an area under the jurisdiction of the L T Marg police station). Next came another Khar house break-in case where he, along with associates, was alleged to have looted ornaments and jewellery worth over Rs 5 lakh.

The last case against him pertained to a a squabble this June with a Byculla resident.

Additional police commissioner (west) Param Bir Singh, however, blamed Batla for the encounter and insisted that it was he who first opened fire. “What do policemen do when someone opens fire? They will also have to fire in self-defence. We try to nab gangsters alive, we have also arrested a number of gangsters alive,’’ Singh said.

Batla’s father is a handcartpuller who hardly earns Rs 80 a day. He is the head of a family of seven, inlcuding three daughters, at Patrawali Chawl in Mazagaon; all three daughters work as domestic helps in nearby buildings.

Batla’s mother, Anjana, was in a state of shock when TOI met her. “My son had a vadapav stall in the Love Lane area of Mazgaon. BMC employees took away his stall since he could not bribe them. He was without employment for two months ago,’’ his father said.

One of his neighbours, however, said Batla shut down the vada-pav stall because of losses. He would come late at night and leave early in the morning, the neighbour added. “The police claimed he went to collect millions but we never saw him wearing expensive clothes or boozing,’’ another neighbour said. Batla, of course, isn’t there for his side of the story.

The Times of India, October 25, 2005