ATS nabs two of Chhota Rajan gang

AHMEDABAD: Gujarat ATS on Friday arrested two persons for their alleged role in a daring daylight armed robbery in Chanod near Vapi in January, when a finance company was robbed of Rs 7 crore.
While Sharmat Baig, 43, was nabbed from Mumbai, Santosh Naik alias Rajesh Khanna, 45, was arrested from Chickmaglur in Karnataka. ATS official said they have recovered Rs 70 lakh from Naik.Both accused are believed to be working for the Chhota Rajan gang. Baig is allegedly also involved in the murder of Khetwadi MLA Premkumar Sharma.
DSP K K Patel of ATS said two teams working under SP ATS, (in-charge) Deepan Bhadran were after the duo for the last week and nabbed both simultaneously on Thursday. They were brought to the city on Friday.
According to ATS sources, both have criminal records. “In 1997, Naik and an accomplice, Suresh, had murdered a man named Qayyum Qureshi at Saki Naka. The murder was done at the instance of Chhota Rajan. Two years later, Santosh, Akhtar Khan and John Paul killed on Iqbal Kuntara in Kurla, again at the instance of Chhota Rajan. Both Qureshi and Kuntara were active members of the Dawood Ibrahim gang,” added Patel.
ATS officials said that from 1998 to 2018, the gang was involved in extortion and robberies in Mahim, Chembur, Navi Mumbai and Surat.
“Sharmat Baig is an active member of the Chota Rajan gang and is involved in several offences including the murder of the Khetwadi MLA Premkumar Sharma. They also robbed several petrol pumps in Aurangabad. The gang is also involved in land grabbing and several cases have been filed against them,” an ATS source said.
Patel said other members of the gang are Kalu, Mohammed Gosh, Haris and Idli Anna. “In all there are nine of them who have committed several offences across the country. The gang usually robbed jewellers at gun point,” added Patel.