Gangster Pujari had no role, only wanted credit: Investigators

ATTACK ON COUNCILLOR IN GUJARAT

THE GUJARAT Anti-terrorism Squad and Anand police on Wednesday claimed to have arrested the gunman who shot at a municipal councillor of Borsad town recently and that allegedgangsterravipujari,whoissaidtobelivinginaustralia,wasonlytryingto“takecredit” for the incident to spread his terror.

Municipal councillor Pragnesh Patel was attacked by two motorcycle-borne assailants outside his house on January 13. A day later on January 14, Congress MLA from Anklav in Ananddistrictamitchavdareportedtoborsad townpolicethathereceivedtwoback-to-back calls—onefromanaustraliannumberandthe other from an Indian number — from a man claimingtobepujariandthreateninghimthat he would meet Pragnesh’s fate. Chavda is cousin of Gujarat Congress chief Bharatsinh Solanki.

Inconnectionwiththeattackonpragnesh, police have arrested three persons, including the alleged shooter who claimed that he was intouchwithpujari.police,however,saidpujari did not order the attack on the councillor and that the main accused, one Chandresh Patel, sonofpragnesh’spoliticalrival,iscurrentlyout of the country.

Sources said that Chandresh had allegedly offered Rs 25 lakh cash and a car to kill Pragnesh. Chandresh reportedly had paid Rs 40,000 cash to the accused as advance.

The ATS claimed that “prima facie Pujari had no role in the case, but after the incident hetriedtotakethecredittospreadhisterrorin the state.” The investigators also said that this was the reason why Pujari allegedly called Chavda.

Accordingtosources,onjanuary12,theaccusedhadtriedtokillpragnesh,buttheycould not execute their plan.

Anandspsaurabhsinghsaidthethreepersons — Suresh Pandian Pillai, a resident of Mumbai, Shabbir Memon, a resident of Surat, andghanshyamgiri,aresidentofborsad,were arrested in a joint operation with ATS. Singh said that “Pillai had shot at Pragnesh at around 8.30 am outside his house, while Shabbir was with him riding the motorcycle.”

“Thereare,primafacie,tworeasonsbehind attempt to murder Patel — a rivalry related to municipalelectioninwhichpragneshdefeated accused Chandresh Patel’s mother Shantaben (who was a BJP candidate), and also the attack on Chandresh by Patel’s brother Sanket in Decemberlastyear,”singhsaid.headdedthat he had sought the ATS help to crack the case.