Dawood's brother shot at in Mumbai, aide dead

Iqbal Kaskar, younger brother of India's most wanted fugitive Dawood Inbrahim, was shot at on Tuesday evening by two armed assailants. According to Mumbai police, the incident happened at 9.55 pm near Delhi Zaika hotel on Pakmodia Street, in south Mumbai.

Kaskar was travelling in his vehicle. Two armed assailants, who were riding a motorcycle, fired five shots at the vehicle. It is reported that other than driver one person was rushed to the hospital. While some reports indicate that the second injured person was a bodyguard who was in the car, others claim that he was pedestrian by the name of Tabrez who tried to nab the fleeing assailants.

Two persons, suspected to be among the assailants, were caught by the locals while trying to flee from the spot near J J Hospital and handed over to the police, senior Inspector Shamsher Khan Pathan said.

The police have also recovered three foreign-made pistols and ammunition from the alleged assailants. They have also recovered empty shells from the scene of crime and would match with the guns seized from the suspects.

The police had summoned Kaskar for a first hand account of the attack.

Incidentally, Pakmodia Street is the locality where Dawood used to stay before he allegedly fled to Pakistan.

Iqbal Kaskar, Dawood's younger brother, was deported from the United Arab Emirates in 2003 and booked for murder and land-grabbing cases. He was subsequently discharged from the murder case.

On June 14, 2007 a special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act court acquitted him in the controversial Sara-Sahara shopping complex case for lack of evidence. With no cases pending against him, Kaskar was released from jail.

The police are investigating whether the attack was a fall-out of gang war.