AK-47, SLR recovered from ex-MLA Shokeen's Bawana property

Trouble mounted for former Independent MLA Rambir Shokeen as Delhi Police recovered an AK-47 and an SLR rifle allegedly from his property in outer Delhi's Bawana area on the instance of his nephew, gangster Neeraj Bawana.

While police said that charges may also be slapped against Shokeen under MCOCA, the former MLA refuted the weapon recovery allegations and claimed that he does not own any land in Bawana. He claimed that there was a political conspiracy at work against him.

"It's absolutely false. I don't have even an inch of land in Bawana. This is a political conspiracy against me. If someone is my relative, what can I do? I have already submitted an application in High Court that I have nothing to do with him (Bawana)," Shokeen said.

The former MLA demanded a CBI probe into the matter and said he was also ready to take a lie-detection test so that the truth can come out.

Police on the other hand said Shokeen is evading them and that their efforts to get in touch with him and question him have failed.

"Instead of talking to the media, he should get in touch with us. We want to question him in this regard, but he is evading our officers," said Special Commissioner of Police (Special Cell), SN Shrivastava.

According to police, the recovery of weapons was made from a plot owned allegedly by Shokeen at Bawana's instance after the dreaded gangster was arrested on Tuesday.

Bawana has more than 40 cases of murder, attempt to murder and extortion against him.
"We have recovered an AK-47 and an SLR rifle from a plot owned by the former MLA. The AK-47 was looted from Uttarakhand police on Dec. 16 by Bawana, who played an active role in arranging the escape of another notorious criminal, Amit Malik alias Bhura, from police custody. Efforts are on to trace the source of the SLR rifle," said a senior police official.

Police alleged that the plot to free Bhura was hatched at Shokeen's office and, after Bawana returned with the looted AK-47, it was the former MLA who advised him to bury the weapons at his property. Both the weapons were dug out today, they added.
Shokeen had entered Delhi Assembly in 2013 as an Independent MLA from Mundka constituency and later joined Congress. His wife, Reetav Shokeen, had contested the 2015 Assembly elections on a Congress ticket.

"Neeraj had given Rs 1 crore to Shokeen for the 2013 polls and Rs 40 lakh during 2015 elections. Although we have arrested 30 to 35 members of his gang in the last six months, at least 15-20 of his associates hailing from the border areas of Delhi like Jhajjar, Sonepat and Rohtak are still on the run," police added.