On the run for 4 yrs,last accused held in Bandra

The police had been on the lookout for Shaikh ever since his alleged involvement in the firing came to light. However,since Shaikh’s real name or address was not known,he lived peacefully in his village and worked as a driver there.

The officers arrested him from Bandra after a tip-off and said Shaikh had been part of the Ravi Pujari gang since five years. He was in charge of the getaway vehicle (mostly motorcycles) used in firings carried out by the gang.

In the Memon case too,after the main accused Vicky Sunil Sharma fired at the lawyer outside his residence on Almira Road in Bandra,he fled on a motorcycle that Shaikh was riding. In 2007,however,Sharma and four others were arrested. While Sharma was convicted and sentenced to four years in jail,others were acquitted.

Shaikh was not just involved in the firing,but had also surveyed the area before the attack,the police claimed.

The officers said Shaikh had entered the gang through Sharma’s accomplice,Glenn Isac Peter alias Micheal. However,even Micheal was not aware of Shaikh’s real name or address. The police said he did not leave any trail behind and was living a carefree life in Goa.

He was allegedly paid about Rs 10,000 for the job,the police said. He took the money and fled the city. Shaikh was the only one in the gang who did not use a mobile phone,said the police.

“We have arrested Shaikh and will present him in court on Wednesday. We have learnt that he was involved in an extortion case in Nirmal Nagar in 1996. We will now find out whether he was involved in other firing cases,” said Assistant Commissioner of Police,Crime Branch,Jaywant Hargude.

Pujari reportedly told his men that he attacked Memon since the latter defended the accused in the December 2002 Ghatkopar bomb blast.

Memon is defending several POTA detenus in many high profile cases,including those related to the bomb blasts. The attackers fired at the lawyer and his son outside their house while they were getting into a car to go to court.