Author: Pramod Kumar Singh
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: June 6, 2004
Union Minister Mohammad Ali Ashraf
Fatimi has made loud proclamations before television cameras that leave
aside a chargesheet, even if there was a case of slapping an individual
registered against him or anybody in his family, he would quit. Well- said
Minister!
For the record, a person is booked
only if there are substantive indications of his/her links in criminal
activities. Mr Fatimi covered his ground well here. The CR no 1 dated January
3, 1998, at the Sarkhej police station of the Ahmedabad rural district,
states: "Zia-ur-Rehman is allegedly close to the then MP Mohammad Fatimi.
Since neither Fazal-ur-Rehman nor Zia-ur-Rehman were arrested, further
links could not have been established." The case relates to the sensational
kidnapping of Gautam Adani, an industrialist of Ahmedabad who was taken
by the gang of Fazal-ur- Rehman alias Fazlu, and Irfan Goga. During the
course of investigation, the Ahmedabad Police arrested one Arshad Hussain
alias Javed, a resident of Mullaganj, Lehariya Sarai, Darbhanga.
Arshad Hussain spilled the beans
during interrogation. Interestingly, Mohammad Sahabuddin, the four-time
RJD MP who is better known as the strongman of Siwan, had been listed as
the accused no-3 in the Adani case. Adani was released only after he coughed
up 1.5 million US dollars in Hong Kong through the hawala channel.
There is another twist in the tale,
which demands an explanation from Mr Fatimi. This relates to one Atiq-ur-Rehman,
the reporter of Qaumi Tanzeem published from Darbhanga. Atiq-ur-Rehman
had played a lead role in the kidnapping of Amrender Kumar Singh, a resident
of Muzaffarpur in Bihar and extorted a whopping Rs 2 crore as ransom. Amrender
was kidnapped on October 3,1998. Fazal-ur-Rehman masterminded the kidnapping.
In the report of the then Superintendent of Police (SP), Darbhanga, Shoba
Ahotkar, Zia-ur- Rehman and Arshad Hussain, who had taken part in Adani's
kidnapping, were named along with Fazal-ur-Rehman, Makki Ansari and Rajesh
Singh. Police had seized a fax machine from the residence of Atiq-ur- Rehman,
which he had confessed to have received as a gift from Mr Fatimi.
The police had also confiscated
a diary maintained by Atiq-ur- Rehman, which contained the numbers of Irfan
Goga and other notorious gang members of mafia don Dawood Ibrahim. Although
Goga is dead, it was he who once controlled Dawood's kidnapping-for-ransom
syndicate. In Amrender Singh's kidnapping case, Atiq-ur-Rehman was constantly
in touch with Fazal-ur-Rehman and made several calls to Mr Fatimi's official
phone number. It would be pertinent to note that the Gujarat Police had
come to search Atiq-ur-Rehman's house but could not succeed.
Deputy Commissioner of Police, Kutch,
sent a report to the Bihar Police detailing the use of Mr Fatimi's official
phone for establishing contact with the kidnappers. Mr Fatimi's phone figured
even in the kidnapping cases of Pune and Bangalore.
Despite the damning details given
of his links with the Fazal-ur- Rehman gang, the report of Rama Shankar
Rai, the then DSP, Darbhanga, the State Police never ever investigated
Mr Fatimi's role. The question may arise here: Why was he not questioned?
It is reflected in the details of the report of Mr Rai in reference to
case number 133/98 (Amrender Singh kidnapping case) registered at the University
police station. Mr Rai's report states: "To conclude from the study of
facts and details, it is clear that the criminals had links with Mr Fatimi
and looking at their status, it was quite possible that they would have
succeeded in killing the SP." The SP in question was Ms Ahotkar, who dared
to investigate Mr Fatimi's links with mafia don Fazal-ur-Rehman.
The report of SP, Darbhanga, indicts
Mr Fatimi for having provided sanctuary to criminals who were involved
in a series of kidnappings for ransom at the behest of transnational extortionist
Fazal-ur- Rehman. The fact that in all the cases, the criminals of the
Babloo Srivastava and the Fazal-ur-Rehman gang spread across Maharashtra,
Gujarat, Bihar, Karnataka and other states had lengthy calls made to Mr
Fatimi's phone is enough of an indicator of his links.
Ms Ahotkar had asked that Mr Fatimi
should be questioned for his role in the kidnapping cases and that why
he gifted the fax-machine to Atiq-ur-Rehman. The questions asked by the
then SP, Darbhanga are yet to be answered. Mr Fatimi, who did not enter
Darbhanga for four months, when Ms Ahotkar issued a warrant for his arrest,
has become a minister in the Manmohan Singh Government and has been shouting
from the rooftop that his slate is absolutely clean. The warrant remains
to be executed.
Needs to be probed
1. Links with Adani kidnapping case.
2. Links with D-Company's Irfan
Goga.
3. Links with Babloo-Fazal kidnapping
cartel
