Chhota Rajan’s aide approaches HC against murder conviction

MUMBAI: A henchman of gangster Chhota Rajan, who along with another gang member, had allegedly shot dead the bodyguard-cum-driver of the brother of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim at Pakmodia Street in South Mumbai in 2011, approached the Bombay high court in the second week of January to appeal against a Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court order convicting him for the crime.

A special MCOCA court in 2015 sentenced Indra Khatri, Sayyed Bilal Mustafa Ali and Abdul Rashad Sheikh to life imprisonment for their involvement in Arif Syed Abu Bukha’s murder, while acquitting key conspirators and Chhota Rajan lieutenants, Umed Ishrat Sheikh, Umed’s brother Adnan, DK Rao and Aasid Jaan Mohammed Shaikh.

The three were convicted based on eyewitness accounts and forensic reports while the others were let off for lack of evidence.

According to the prosecution, on May 17, 2011, Indra Bahadur Khatri, 27, from Nepal, and Sayyed Bilal Mustafa Ali, 29, from Mumbra came on a bike and fired at Bukha, who was scanning visitors to Kaskar’s residence near the entrance, five times with a .45 bore Smith & Wesson revolver. Kaskar was not at home at the time. Local residents, later, caught both the shooters and handed them over to the police.

Khatri has now approached the Bombay high court to appeal against the order of the MCOCA special court that convicted him and Sayyed for the crime. The matter came up for hearing on 17 January but the court adjourned and posted the matter for hearing on a later date.