Rabodi firing: MNS’ Jamil shooter held in Lucknow

THANE: The alleged shooter in the murder of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader, Jamil Shaikh, was arrested in Lucknow on Saturday. The Uttar Pradesh police, in a statement, said that the accused has allegedly claimed that he was given a contract to kill Shaikh by a local corporator.

His arrest has led to some repercussions in the city with several MNS activists gathering outside the office of the corporator in Rabodi.

The Thane Crime Branch Unit 1 has produced the accused, Irfan Sonu Shaikh, 24, in court and will bring him to the city in the next two days.

Two unidentified persons on a bike opened fire on Jamil, 49, in broad daylight, killing him in Rabodi in November. The two were on a bike and wore helmets, hence the police could not identify the killers.

An officer from Thane crime branch said, “Irfan shot the deceased and fled to Nashik and took a bus to Gorakhpur, where he was hiding for a few days and recently moved to Lucknow. We got a tip off of his whereabouts.”

Irfan hails from a small village in UP and this was his first contract killing. The Thane police are yet to interrogate him. He is the second to be arrested in the case after Shahid Shaikh, 31, who helped the shooter to stay in the area and later escape.

The press statement released by UP police said, “Irfan informed that the contract to kill Jamil was given to them for ₹2 lakh by a local corporator of the area. One of the accused, Osama, called Shahid and Irfan on November 23 to his residence in Rabodi. He allegedly told the two to carry out the murder of Jamil on the same day. Irfan went to Shahid’s place, where the vehicle was parked, changed clothes and took Osama’s bike to Rabodi Masjid. They fired at Jamil when he came out.”

Following the arrest of the alleged shooter, several MNS workers allegedly went to the office of the corporator, though the local police intervened. A source from the police station said that the security in the area has been intensified.