An AK-47 assault rifle and a self loading rifle (SLR) have been seized from a property owned by former MLA Rambir Shokeen in Outer Delhi’s Bawana.
The seizure has been made by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police based on the information provided by recently arrested gangster Neeraj Bawana.
The arms were looted when Neeraj and his associates had rescued another criminal Amit Bhura from the custody of the Uttarakhand Police.
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“Between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Thursday, a team of the Special Cell seized the two weapons, an AK-47 and a SLR, which were buried at an ancestral plot owned by Mr. Shokeen in Bawana Gaon. The weapons were looted from the Uttarakhand Police on December 14, 2014, while rescuing Amit Bhura, who is a member of Neeraj Bawana’s gang,” a senior police officer said.
The Special Cell is likely to question Mr. Shokeen, who is also allegedly Neeraj’s maternal uncle.
“There is certain information and disclosures on which Mr. Shokeen’s questioning is necessary. Once the questioning is over, the next course of action will be decided,” said S N Srivastava, Special Commissioner of Police, Special Cell. Following Neeraj’s arrest after a brief encounter with the Special Cell in Outer Delhi on April 7, he disclosed to the police about the weapons.
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The weapons will be returned to the Uttarakhand Police. Mr. Shokeen, who was elected an independent MLA in the 2013 polls from Mundka, joined the Congress in January.
The former MLA, however, said he does not own any land in Bawana and the police are falsely implicating him.
“I do not own even a single piece of land in Bawana. The police are falsely implicating me in this case. If they find any evidence against me, I am ready to quit politics,” Mr. Shokeen said.
In a related development, the Special Cell has taken custody of a Baghpat-based gangster Sunil Rathi under Sections of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act to confront Bawana.
Tip of the iceberg
Recovery of arms from a plot owned by the former MLA is just the tip of the iceberg, believe Delhi Police officials as he could be involved in more cases and possibly serious in nature. Sources said that investigating officials are likely to confront Bawana with Mr. Shokeen.
Bawana was born in Bawana village.
His father is a conductor with a Delhi Transport Corporation bus and has no criminal involvement.
But his brother and uncles have been known to be extortionists in the Outer Delhi area.
In one of the incidents, the arrested gangster and his brother Pankaj had hatched a conspiracy at the behest of Sunil Rathi and roped in other criminals to manage the escape of Amit Bhura from the custody of the Uttrakhand Police while he was being taken to Baghpat for court appearance.
The gang had looted two assault rifles and one SLR from the escort party of the Uttrakhand Police.
According to the police, they buried the weapons in a plot owned by Mr. Shokeen.
The arms were looted when Neeraj and his associates had rescued another criminal Amit Bhura from the custody of Uttarakhand Police