ELECTIONS '98
COMMENTARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ARCHIVES

Police arrest three Dawood men

The New Delhi police on Wednesday arrested three people closely associated with underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, busting a gun-running racket and hawala link.

The trio, two of them Pakistani nationals, formed part of a conspiracy to eliminate political leaders, including Lok Shakti Karnataka unit president Jeeva Raj Alva. They were also assigned to create a base for Dawood's operations in Bangalore.

The arrested have been identified as Alimuddin, a resident of Okhla, Mirza Bashir Ahmed Beg and Saifullah Khan alias Bobby, both hailing from Lahore.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (special cell) Ashok Chand told reporters that the gang was actively associated with Pakistan's Inter Service Intelligence, which was supplying arms for distribution among gangsters and militants.

The hawala operations were being guided from Saudi Arabia.

Chand said that following a tip off the police seized a Maruti car from the parking lot of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, arresting Alimuddin. He was to deliver an arms consignment to two Dawood men. A loaded pistol and five cartridges were found in his possession, while 11 pistols, 199 cartridges and 15 spare magazines were recovered from a bag in the car.

During interrogation, Alimuddin disclosed that the two Pakistani nationals, living in the Lajpat Nagar area of South Delhi, had supplied him the consignment. The police nabbed the Pakistanis from their residence.

One million rupees of hawala money was also recovered from the trio.

UNI

Tell us what you think of this report