Mumbai: Police on Thursday filed a chargesheet
against nine arrested accused, including a local political
leader, in the murder of a private shipping firm owner who was
also an alleged marine diesel smuggler.
The 2,000-page document was filed in a special
Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) Court here.
The victim, Sayyed Chand Madar (56), was shot dead on
September 15 in South Mumbai. A week after the murder, the
Crime Branch arrested Congressman Mohammed Ali Abu Shaikh and
eight others, including two sharpshooters from Uttar Pradesh.
According to the Crime Branch, Shaikh, who was also
into smuggling of marine diesel, along with underworld
gangster Chhota Shakeel, hatched a conspiracy to eliminate
Madar. Shaikh and Madar were rivals in smuggling of diesel.
Shaikh had allegedly paid Rs 6 lakh to Shakeel for the
murder, police said. Shakeel has been named as a wanted
accused in the chargesheet.
Besides the MCOCA, the accused have also been booked
under several sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC), including
murder and criminal conspiracy.
Shaikh had contested the 2009 Lok Sabha election from
Mumbai South on a BSP ticket, police said, adding, he later
joined the Congress.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, December 16, 2010, 21:00