Mumbai:
You've seen it in the movies. Now, gang wars are back on Mumbai's streets. Underworld don Dawood Ibrahim's brother Iqbal Kaksar was shot at late on Tuesday night and early investigations suggest that the Chhota Rajan gang could have been behind the attempt on his life.
Kaskar had a narrow escape when two men opened fire at him outside the JJ Hospital. His bodyguard and driver was killed. People gathered at the spot and managed to corner the two gunmen, who have been arrested. A Mumbai Police DCP said three weapons and some live ammunition and cartridges were recovered from them.
Police sources say that the two men have alleged that they were contracted by a member of the Chhota Rajan gang to shoot Kaksar. The police are now on the lookout for this person and only after he has been traced will they be able to ascertain whether the Chhota Rajan gang was indeed behind the attack. The Dawood-Chhota Rajan rivalry is an old and known one.
Of the two men arrested, one is a resident of Mumbra, on the outskirts of Mumbai, while the other is a Nepali national. Both have been remanded to police custody till May 26.
The attack on Kaksar was dramatic. "Two men came on a bike and fled after opening fire. A bullet hit Iqbal Kaskar's bodyguard, Arif bhai," said an eyewitness. Another eyewitness said, "The public caught them because their bike slipped. The public then surrounded them."
Iqbal Kaskar is said to have a limited role in the Dawood gang, but this is a second attempt on his life. He was attacked by a rival gang way back in 1986.
Though Kaskar has sought to downplay his Dawood connection, he was earlier linked to a murder case and then was charged in the infamous Sara-Sahara case under Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). He was accused of grabbing land for an illegal shopping mall allegedly owned by Dawood.
Kaskar was acquitted in 2007 for lack of evidence. He is the only member of the Dawood family to have been tried in an Indian court.
Dawood may have fled India before the Mumbai serial blasts 18 years ago, but is said to own substantial property in central Mumbai. And the shooting is a reminder of his family connections in the city. Besides Iqbal Kaskar, Dawood's sister Haseena Parkar and her family continue to live in Mumbai.