Nagpur: What seemed to be a routine hit-and-run case a week ago has now exploded into a supari plot to eliminate a dreaded criminal, Sheikh Akram alias Bhuru, who was critically injured after a jeep driven by rivals tried to mow him down on Wardha Road on Aug 11. The chilling disclosure followed the arrest of five members of a crime syndicate, which pointed to a brewing gang war in the city’s dark underbelly.Questions are now being raised on the role of Sonegaon police, which registered a case of accident, six days after the incident on August 17 and then halted the probe, till the crime branch was urged to swing into action. The crime branch led by senior inspector Shubhangi Deshmukh nabbed five suspects, including Sheikh Shariff who had given the multi-crore ‘supari’ to bump off Bhuru.Investigators say externed goon, Baba Tiger and Sitabuldi ganja kingpin Sheikh Sharif, both MCOCA accused, had joined hands to settle an old score with Bhuru, who had thrashed Sharif. The injured gangster did not lodge an FIR then, but vowed to eliminate his rival.The attack took place around 11.30pm on August 11 in front of a hotel on Wardha Road near Somalwada Chowk. Bhuru, 42, who too was slapped with MCOCA , was hit by a black jeep and tossed into the air, before he fell several feet away. Sensing he may survive the hit, the assailants returned to open fire at him, but fled on seeing passers-by thronging the site. Bhuru suffered serious injuries and is being treated at a private hospital.After Sonegaon police remained silent for a week, crime branch team led by assistant police inspector Chetan Borkhede acted on an intelligence tip and arrested Shahbaz Khan alias Salman Billa, 25, Amir Sheikh, 35, Mohammad Sahil Ansari, 24, Toufeeq Sheikh, 28, and Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Salim, 36. They were later handed over to Sonegaon police.The jeep, owned by Sharif but used by Baba Tiger, has been seized. Baba Tiger, 27, and his close aide JD are on the run. Sources stated Tiger operated a gambling den under Mankapur bridge in north Nagpur. Crime branch officers scanned CCTV footage that captured the jeep’s movement at several points near the crime spot to identify occupants and reconstruct the sequence. Baba Tiger was behind the wheels with JD, Toufiq, Sahil and Sharif. “The gang had returned to finish off Bhuru, but desisted on seeing a big crowd at the spot,” said a source.Bhuru’s 2011 role in the Vasantrao Naik slum murder on Amravati Road had rocked the city, triggering protests and suspension of 11 policemen. After getting bail, Bhuru was barred from Nagpur, but he sneaked in and checked into the hotel. Sources said Bhuru’s own aides, Bhaskar Anna and Anup Bhosale, are under scanner as cops are probing who provided his exact location and movements to the rival gang.
