Anti-extortion cell investigators of the Mumbai police (crime branch) on Wednesday night arrested two members of the Ravi Pujari gang from outside the house of a person whom they referred to as a “prominent film personality”. The police said the two were to open fire at the house to scare the celebrity, and had also carried a chit on which abuses and an international number was written.
Though the policemen refused to divulge the name of the film personalities, a top police officer disclosed that director Govind Nihalani and filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt’s son, Rahul Bhatt, were the targets. The accused have been identified as Kalam Najim Khan (32) and Sayyed Shahid Hussain (25), both from Kurla.
While the police is flummoxed at the accused’s reason for targeting Nihalani, they clearly said they were on a mission to kill Rahul Bhatt for his brief association with 26/11 conspirator David Coleman Headley.
“Our officers were working on a tip-off for the last two to three days and, accordingly, they laid a trap. At around 9 pm, after they parked their motorcycle outside the house of the victim in the western suburb, the two were apprehended,” said JCP (crime) Himanshu Roy. The police has recovered two 9 mm pistols with foreign markings, nine bullets, three cellphones and a motorcycle from the accused.
“During initial interrogation they revealed that they were instructed to open fire near the target, without hurting but scaring him, and leaving the chit at his residence,” said a senior crime branch officer.
Mr Roy refused to confirm the identity of the celebrity, saying it could be a security concern. “We have also provided security to the victims. There was no complaint from the victims. It would have been a major incident but our men averted it in the nick of time,” Mr Roy said.
The police said Pujari had outsourced the firing to local men. “Though the two not have serious offences registered against them, there are some cases in Bhiwandi and other places,” Mr Roy said.