D-company conspired, sent shooter to kill BJP leader Zadaphia to avenge 2002 riots: Gujarat ATS

The ATS in its chargesheet mentioned that the motive of the Mumbai-based shooter was to kill Zadaphia

The Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has said that the suspected sharp-shooter arrested after a raid in August last year had allegedly come to kill former Minister of State for Home Gordhan Zadaphia to "avenge atrocities on Muslims during 2002 post-Godhra riots."

The ATS in its chargesheet, filed last week, has mentioned several times that the motive of the Mumbai-based shooter was to kill Zadaphia, currently the vice-president of Gujarat BJP, at the behest of fugitive underworld don Chhota Shakeel, who is said to be a close associate of another fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar.

In the chargesheet, filed before a special court in the city, ATS has said that the interrogation of the alleged shooter Irfan Ismail Shaikh alias Kalia, 23, revealed that he was sent from Mumbai to kill Zadaphia as part of a conspiracy hatched by the members of Dawood's gang.

"Dawood Ibrahim, currently residing in Pakistan, his gang members Shakeel Babu Shaikh alias Chhota Shakeel, Syed Muddassar Hussain alias Munna Jhingada and Shabbir conspired to kill Zadaphia, who was the Minister of State for Home when the 2002 riots broke out, to avenge the loss of lives and properties of Muslims," ATS said in the chargesheet.

The chargesheet, accessed by DH, states that Shabbir, whose full identity is yet to be established, contacted accused number 2 in the case, Siddesh Kharade, a resident of Mumbai and offered him Rs10 lakh to eliminate Zadaphia.

Kharade has been quoted in the chargesheet as saying, "12/13/08/2020 ke roz subah me WhatsApp call karke shabbir Haji ne mujhe bola ki Ahmedabad me Bhajpa ka neta Gordhan Zadaphia ko tapkane ki sopari Chhota Shakeel aur Munna Jhingada ne diya hai, toh tumse wo kaam hoga? Toh maine usko na bola uske baad usne mujhe kaha ki tu ik kaam kar tere pahchan ka aur koi daringwala chokra ready kar aur use hathiyar leke bhej denge aur uske sath hamara dusra adami jayega aur dono milke kam khatam kar denge aur ye kaam hone par tujhe Rs10 lakh mil jayega. Maine ye baat sunkar paison ki lalach me use haan bola diya aur khoob sochne ke baad tarikh 16/8/2020 ke roj maine mere dost Irfan ko yeh bataya aur use ye kaam ke liye Rs5 lakh dene ki baat kiya toh wo taiyar ho gaya (On 12/13/08/2020 morning, Shabbir Haji called me on WhatsApp and said that Chhota Shakeel and Munna Jhingada have given contract to kill BJP leader Gordhan Zadaphia in Ahmedabad. Can you do it? When I refused, he asked me to find out a daring person who can do it. He will be sent with weapons and joined by another man to finish the job, and he will get Rs10 lakh for doing the job. I got greedy and told my friend Irfan on 16/08/2020, and I offered him Rs5 lakh, he accepted."

Kharade has been quoted as saying that he received a bag containing weapons and Rs 3000, which he gave to Irfan for the job. He also said that he never met Shabbir and came in contact through a friend who was murdered by local goons a few days later. Irfan came to Ahmedabad by bus on August 18 early morning and checked-in at the hotel "Vinus" near Lal Darwaja.

On the same day, he did a recce of state BJP headquarters 'Kamalam' in Gandhinagar. He took a video of the office and shared it with Shabbir, who sent him a link containing a picture of Zadaphia. Shabbir reportedly told Irfan after receiving the video that "Munna Jhingada tere kaam se khush ho gaya hai (Munna Jhingada is happy with your work)."

The chargesheet states that Irfan was supposed to be joined by one Salman, whose full identity is yet to be established, but on the same night, August 18 at 10:00 pm, Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Himanshu Shukla received a secret message which stated, "Shakeel Babu Shaikh alias Chhota Shakeel's, currently living in Pakistan, gang has sent sharp-shooters from Mumbai to Ahmedabad to kill Hindu leaders and the sharp-shooters are staying at a hotel called Vinus in the area around Relief Road in the city."

Based on this specific information, the ATS team raided room number 105 of the hotel at midnight when Irfan opened fire in a bid to escape. No one was injured as one of the officers B P Rozia pushed him away in the nick of time. The chargesheet has listed 47 witnesses in the case, including Shukla, then Superintendent of police, ATS, Deepan Bhadran, Deputy Superintendent of Police K K Patel, who were part of the raiding team.