August 15: A red-alert notice was issued to all police stations today morning after the Special Branch received information about Dawood Ibrahim gang's intentions to carry out subversive activities in the city.

The message, flashed to all 72 police stations in Mumbai, said: ``It is reliably learnt that two groups of Dawood Ibrahim gang have entered the country from Nepal via Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. It is possible that they may carry out terrorist activities at important places in the country.''

Surprisingly, Joint Police Commissioner (crime) R S Sharma said he had no knowledge of any such notice. ``I do not know about this message sent to police stations. I am also not aware of any such activities of the Dawood gang,'' Sharma told Express Newsline.

A few hours before the red-alert was sounded, a key member of the gang, Rajendra alias Chotta Pawaskar was shot dead in a police encounter in Tardeo. However, police were not willing to say if Pawaskar belonged to the two groups mentioned in the red-alert notice.

Pawaskar and another D-Company member were spotted by police at Chikalwadi. They were asked to surrender and were warned that the police would open fire if they didn't. The gangsters, however, tried to escape forcing police to open fire. While Pawaskar was killed on the spot, his associate managed to escape. The police recovered a A .38 revolver and five boxes of cartridges from the scene of the crime.

According to the police Pawaskar (35) was originally a member of the Suresh Manchrekar gang, but later switched loyalties to the Karachi-based Dawood.

A total of 14 cases were registered against Pawaskar. The string of cases include two murders charges filed at various police stations across the metropolis. The gangster was active in the suburbs of Dombivli, Mulund and Kalyan.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.