Chhota Shakeel's henchman Shahnawaz Akbar Khan alias Shano, who allegedly had planned to eliminate a builder, was killed in an encounter with the police in suburban Vile Parle, Mumbai, on Friday, police said.
Acting on a tip-off, the anti-robbery squad laid a trap for Shano near the Western Express Highway in Vile Parle early on Friday morning and asked him to surrender.
However, he opened fire at the police party, and in the return fire, Shano was injured. He was rushed to V N Desai Hospital where he was declared dead on admission, police said.
"We have recovered a .25 mm US made automatic pistol, which is very rare for a gangster. Two or three more accomplices of his were to join him for eliminating the builder, but they fled due to the police operation," Anti-Robbery Squad Chief Vijay Salaskar told PTI in Mumbai.
Khan (25) was wanted in over 20 cases, including two cases of extortion under the sringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, and a case of firing on a police team in 2002, police said.
Shano was a resident of Vakola in north-west Mumbai and originally hails from Uttar Pradesh.