New Delhi, May 8 (HT) : The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed a chargesheet in an Ahmedabad court against ten members of the Dawood Ibrahim-led D Company who allegedly tried to spark communal tension by targeting churches and right-wing organisations, including the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
An NIA probe has found that the murder of two BJP leaders in Gujarat’s Bharuch in 2015 was part of a larger conspiracy to kill men associated with saffron outfits in the state.
Shirish Bangali, a former BJP president in Bharuch, and Pragnesh Mistry, the party’s youth wing general secretary in the city, were shot dead by two men on a motorcycle on November 2.
Seven of the ten accused have been arrested in connection with the murders, which were committed allegedly to avenge the capital punishment to Mumbai serial blasts convict Yakub Memon, who was hanged in July.
Yakub’s brother, Tiger Memon, mob boss Dawood and his brother, Anees Ibrahim, are considered to be the key conspirators behind the 1993 blasts that killed more than 250 people.
According to the chargesheet filed on Saturday, key accused Zahidmiya, who allegedly resides in South Africa, and Pakistan-based Javid Patel, alias Javed Chikna, an alleged key member of the Dawood gang, also planned to attack churches in Gujarat.
“The Gujarat-based accused were lured with money, religion and even jobs outside India if they executed the plans of Javed Chikna and Zahidmiya,” said an NIA official on condition of anonymity.
The chargesheet said Chikna not only sent money from Dubai to Gujarat through the hawala route --- an illicit channel used for transferring money by circumventing legitimate banking channels ---but also arranged for the weapons to gun down Bangali and Mistry.
The NIA has asked Interpol to trace Chikna and hand him over to India.
Haji Patel, MD Yunus Shaikh, Abdul Samad, Abid Patel, MD Altaf, Mohsin Khan and Nisar Ahmed are in custody for the alleged double murder. After the attack, Chikna allegedly sent Rs 5 lakh to the accused.
A case has been registered against Chikna’s brother Abid Patel.