Nagpur: An alleged cattle smuggler was seriously injured and one of his accomplices escaped unhurt when a hardened goon fired three gun shots at him after a group clash between them near Ashok Samrat Chowk at Uppalwadi in Kapil Nagar area on early Friday morning.
Injured Amjad Sheikh Shabbir Sheikh was rushed to Hope Hospital, Kamptee Road, Teka Naka. Cops nabbed one of the accused Sheikh Shadab Sheikh Gulab (27), a resident of Ansar Nagar, Mominpura, in this connection. Other accused Sohail Bawla and four others are at large.
Sheikh Imran alias Sonu Abdul Sattar Sheikh (23), a cattle supplier, was known to cattle smuggler Sheikh Shadab. Sheikh Imran’s another friend Sonu alias Vira was arrested by Nagpur Rural Police in a cattle smuggling case on March 10. When Sheikh Shadab came to know that Sheikh Imran had gone to meet Sonu, he threatened him of dire consequences. Around 5.30 am on Friday, Sheikh Imran, his friends Amjad Sheikh Shabbir Sheikh, Wasim Naseem Khan and Aaran Mukhtar Sheikh had gone to Mominpura for Ramzan. From there, they went to Mohammad Ali PetrolPump, Kamptee Road, for refuelling their two-wheelers.
Near the petrol pump on Kamptee Road, they spotted a group transporting cows in a Toyota Innova SUV. Sheikh Imran and his friends chased the SUV. The Toyota Innova stopped at Samrat Ashok Chowk, Uppalwadi. Accused Sheikh Shadab, who was in the SUV with his accomplices, fired three shots at Sheikh Imran from his revolver but he somehow escaped unhurt and tried to run away. Sheikh Shadab, Sohail Bawla and four others got down from the SUV and attacked Amjad Sheikh with swords, sticks and butt of a revolver injuring him seriously. The assailants then fled the spot in the same vehicle.
After some time, Sheikh Imran returned to the spot and found Amjad Sheikh lying in a pool of blood. He immediately called the police. Cops rushed to the spot and took Amjad Sheikh to the hospital. Later, Kapil Nagar Police nabbed Sheikh Shadab and registered a case of attempt-to-murder under Sections 307, 34 of the Indian Penal Code, read with Section 3/25 of the Indian Arms Act, against him and his accomplices. Special police teams have launched a manhunt for the other assailants.
Cattle smuggling rivalry
The murderous attack was a fallout of the feud between former associates of a cattle smuggling gang active in Mauda and Kalmeshwar. According to police, Shadab and Sonu, once members of the same gang in the illicit trade, found themselves at odds over monetary disputes which led to a separation.
On March10, the police caught a truck smuggling cattle, which belonged to Shadab. Shadab learnt that the police action was initiated on the basis of a tip-off given by Sonu Bandar. As a result, they decided to kill Sonu Bandar.
