Malbari confession : 'Planned to Kidnap Dubai-based Businessman for Ransom'
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (SP)
Mangalore, Apr 7: Rashid Malbari, 38, also known with different names at different times, like Rashid Hussain Sheikh alias Double alias Big Boss alias Nayak alias Narayan, known to be one of the close henchmen of notorious underworld criminal Chota Shakil, has confessed to have had hatched a plan to kidnap a Dubai-based businessman returning to Mangalore, for a ransom of five crore rupees. Sources say, he also revealed to the policemen, that he wanted to use this money to assassinate Varun Gandhi and Pramod Mutalik, who are emerging as the new heroes of Hindu fanatism.
Rashid said in his confessional statement made on March 29 to the policemen that he was called by Shakil when in Dubai, to entrust him with a task in India. As Rashid reached Nepal and then Mumbai via Gorakhpur, Shakil reportedly instructed him to move to Mangalore and meet a man named Ismail. On arrival here, Ismail arranged for his stay in a rented house in Kapu. During Malbari's stay in Kapu, he came in contact with Sayaf, Mohammed Hashim and Ibrahim, he stated, adding that Ibrahim had also provided him with a car to move around and money amounting to Rs 25,000 to be able to go to Mumbai.
Role of SMSes
Malbari said he went back to Mumbai and sought Shakil's instructions over phone. Shakil, instead of giving oral instructions, sent to him two SMSes from Shakil, instructing him to assassinate Pramod Mutalik and Varun Gandhi. "When I contacted Shakil to confirm the instructions, he asked me to execute the assignment at the earliest, in the interests of his community. He asked me which of the assignments I would be able to execute first, and I chose Mutalik," he confessed.
Rashid added that he sought three pistols from Shakil for the task and got them through a man whose identity he did not know. After coming back to Mangalore, he said, he had asked Sayaf, Ibrahim and Hashim to draft a plan to kill Mutalik, convincing them that he was anti-Muslim and killing him was necessary, besides paying them Rs 20,000 to execute the plan. "I had asked them to make a detailed sketch of the murder plan and provide it to me, but the trio was caught before this could happen," he explained.
"I presented before them a plan to kidnap Isubu for ransom, so that the ransom we would have got could be used to assassinate Varun Gandhi. Shakil sent me a lac of rupees. I sought the help of my nephew Suhail to kidnap Isubu and the kidnap plan was to be executed at Udupi Railway Station. Once the plan was properly explained to the three men, I shifted to Kasargod where I stayed in a rented house with wife Zohara and son Azhar," Rashid added.
Malbari's Past Exposed
Rashid said he was a native of Udupi and that his mother Zainabi was the third wife of his father who worked in Mumbai hotels for a living. His father had eight children from her and the family lived at Dongre in Mumbai before moving to Ghatkopar upon his father's death in 1975. “I studied in Govandiya Shivaji School, butdropped out of school after studying up to the fifth standard. I worked as coolie when young and later worked in tea shops in Mumbai before taking up door-to-door delivery of milk sachets. At 13, I opened my own tea shop. Soon thereafter, my sister Hajira got married and within six months thereafter, her husband Ismail arranged to take me to Dubai. There I worked in an ice cream company. I was aware that my brother Ismail got involved with various street fights at Mumbai and landed in jail often,” Malbari is said to have revealed.
He divulged, he worked as an assistant mechanic at a Dubai garage later. During this period, one of his friends, C K Shariff borrowed Rs 15,000 from him, promising to pay back on his return from India but failed to keep up the promise. The two had a fight on this issue and Rashid was sent to jail in Dubai for 25 days, before getting released on payment of Rs 10,000 as fine. "After I was threatened of being thrown out of job, I came back to Mumabi after availing leave in the year 1999," he claimed.
On his return to Mumabai he came to know, his elder brother Ismail was in jail, having been named as an accused in the murder of Baba Saheb Jadhav. At a time when he was badly in need of money to get his brother released, some one called him over phone, asking to meet them at a restaurant in Andheri. He met the man, who was an enemy of Ismail. Not aware of this fact, Malbari was talking to the man, when he suddenly asked his henchmen to kill Rashid to take revenge against his brother. Rashid said he fled from there.
Malbari said he married Zohara from Kaup, in 1992. His brother was released around this time, but was detained under MISA thereafter and the family needed money to get him out of jail. He added, he was fed up with his brother's criminal activities as it affected his marital life and he had differences with his brother on this count. Therefore, he left Mumbai, stayed in Kerala for six months, before being requested by his mother to come back to Mumbai and stay with her. "My brother was lodged in Arthur Road jail then and when I went to meet him once, he gave me the telephone number of Chota Shakil. When contacted, Shakil, who was in Dubai then, agreed to arrange for the release of my brother and in addition, gave us some money," he confessed.
Faced with the need to maintain family without a job and starved of money, Rashid decided to join Chota Shakil's gang, much against the advice of his brother. Initially, he used to deliver Hawala money to people in Mumbai and deliver weapons to gang members. "The 9 mm China-made pistol I was given then for my own security, is with me even now," Rashid said.
"My first major assignment was threatening a builder from Navi Mumbai under Shakil's instructions, in 1997. Then I waited near his home for three days and fired four bullets at him, one of which hit him. I was scared then and escaped in a Yamaha bike," he divulged.
In 1997, Chota Shakeel is said to have called Malbari and asked him to threaten a builder from Navi Mumbai. This was his frist big assignment. He waited for three days near the house of his target, and fired four bullets at the builder on the fourth day, one of which hit him. “I was scared and ran away from there. I was on a Yamaha motor bike.
Till then no one knew that I was working for Chota Shakeel, but after this incident it became a common knowledge and the policemen were on a manhunt for me. My brother Sajid was in Dubai with my sister, and had come to Mumbai for a vacation, When he went to a place B BT Chawl at Mumbai Central, some gangmen of Chota Rajan Killed my brother on September 15 1997, and also severed his head. I could not claim his body as I feared arrest because of my past. This was a turning point in my life. I left Mumbai and stayed in Kerala for about one year.
After a few days, My brother Ismail, who was in jail was being taken to a court, when about 10 members from Chota Rajan Gang attacked him and he died at the hopital. I came to know one of the killers was John, whom I knew,” Malbari revealed.
“Chota Rajan had deputed John to kill me and my friend Mastan at Kerala also. We came to know of this plan and fled from Kerala,” he added.
“I informed Chota Shakil about my brother's murder. He asked me to shoot John and his associate Prashant. Then we made plans to kill them at Mangalore we followed them from Mangalore railway station. Finally we killed both John and Prashant, before fleeing in an auto. We informed Chota shakil about it on phone. This was my biggest success. I was satisfed I killed my brother's killers” he divulged.
“From there we fled to Tamil Nadu and then we returned to Bangalore. Chota Shakil asked us to stay at Bangalore with one Salauddin. One day Salauddin and his associates had a quarrel over some issue, and I was asked to shoot their own colleague, but even before I could fire, accidentally I pressed the trigger, and the bullet pierced Saluaddin’s friend. I ran away from there too,” Rashid said.
“Later Chota Shakil gave me an asignment to kill Chota Rajan gang members. I killed Hussain Vastra , gang member of Chota Rajan, after which Chota shakeel asked me to come to Dubai. In 1999 I went to Dubai in fake name Abdul Lateef. I reached Dubai. Here I kept quiet for some time. Shakil gave me money to spend. I stayed with my sister also during this period,” he said.
“In the year 2000, I set out to kill Chota Rajan on instructions form Chota Shakeel. I was asked to co-ordinate with one Yusuf in Bangkok. I was given three pistols. I stayed in a Bangkok farm house for sometime. Shakeel told us to follow Chota Rajan, who he said, would be visiting a five star hotel, where we could kill him. Chota Rajan's gang member Rohit Verma was also with Chota Rajan during this visit. We waited at the hotel but they did not turn up. We abandoned the plans. After a few days, we saw Chota Rajan and his associate Jhinda. But we had no pistols with us at the time. We told Chota Shakil that we had spotted Rajan. Luckily we found out that Chota Rajan stayed near the same place as we stayed. On a day, nine of us planned the murder of chota rajan. Four people along with munna Jhingda approached Rajan’s residence and rang the bell. As soon as Rohit Verma opened the door, Jhingda killed him. We all started firing. But Chota Rajan who was in his bed room, ran away by jumping out of the window, before we could reach him, and escaped. After that, we laid low for a few months,” he explained.
“Then in 2005, Chota shakil asked me to go to Kuala Lumpur and kill Chota Rajan's gang member Baalu Dongre. Baalu Dongre was a close associate of Chota Rajan. One day we managed to get him. I stabbed Balu Dongre, and returned to Dubai. There, I was introduced to one Ismail who hailed from Kaapu,Mangalore district,” Malbari is said to have confessed.
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