The Hindu : New Delhi News : Aides' arrest a blow to Chhota Rajan plans

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jul 20, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

Aides' arrest a blow to Chhota Rajan plans

Devesh K. Pandey

Aimed to eliminate arch rival Dawood

NEW DELHI: The recent arrests of two aides of underworld don Chhota Rajan here in the Capital by the Mumbai police have come as a shock and embarrassment to the intelligence agencies and to the Delhi police. They are also understood to have poured cold water over Chhota Rajan's plan to hunt down his top rival, Dawood Ibrahim, prime accused in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts case.

Though Vicky Malhotra, who was arrested in New Delhi on July 11, is said to be the right-hand man of Chhota Rajan, for the Mumbai police the big catch perhaps is Fareed Tanasha, who was picked up from his West Delhi hideout.

Allegedly a top sharpshooter of the underworld don, Fareed earlier supervised his "business" across North India under Chhota Rajan's confidant and sharpshooter, Balu Dokre, who was brutally done to death by D-company in Malaysia this May. Another prominent figure in the underworld circle who later joined the duo was Rama, now suspected to have been killed in an intra-gang clash.

While Fareed's presence in Delhi was first noticed in early 2002, it is suspected that he had been operating from here since a long time and had made West Delhi his base. But, surprisingly, the Delhi police could not trace his whereabouts.

Prominent members

Over the years, Dokre and Fareed had gained prominent positions in the Chhota Rajan gang and the former was being considered a suitable candidate for the task of hunting down Dawood. But, he was traced and eliminated in Malaysia. After that, Fareed was being groomed as the man fit for the job. But lately, he too was identified by Dawood's trusted lieutenant, Chhota Shakeel, and plans were already in place to eliminate him in Delhi.

It is believed that the operation to eliminate Chhota Rajan's men intensified after news about the marriage of Dawood's daughter became public as it would have provided an opportunity for his rivals to eliminate him. "At a marriage function where hundreds of people would be present to greet the newly wed couple, any one, even in the garb of a waiter, could have easily targeted Dawood," said an official.

Vicky, who joined Fareed not long ago, had also been included in the hit list of the D-company as he was suspected to be operating as a key link between his boss and his "contacts" in Delhi. However, the plan to liquidate the two Chhota Rajan aides failed.

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