Police suspect gang war behind Kochi businessman’s murder

Imtiaz Khan, it is learnt, was the business partner of Naseer, also known as Bhai Naseer, who is presently absconding.

The murder that shocked the city last week could just be the tip of something sinister. One of the preliminary inferences made by the City Police special investigation team is that Imtiaz Khan, who was found murdered in his car inside the housing colony where he was staying, was the victim of what could possibly be a gang war.

Imtiaz Khan, it is learnt, was the business partner of Naseer, also known as Bhai Naseer, who is presently absconding. After he had come out on bail, Naseer got involved in an assault case in Aluva.

Sources in the City Police said they suspect that the attack conducted by Naseer and his gang had ruffled many feathers and rival gangs narrowed down on Imtiaz to elicit information on Naseer. The autopsy done on Imtiaz’s body showed minor cuts and wounds, which could have been inflicted to gather information.

Naseer was in the news after one of the inmates in the sub-jail told the then Judicial First Class Magistrate-I that the former used to extort money from people through his goons whom he contacted over phone. During a surprise raid led by the magistrate, two phones used by Naseer were seized in 2009.

Activator, the company that Imtiaz Khan floated along with Naseer, is also alleged to be involved in land filling activities and real estate, even though the declared objective of the company was to provide unskilled labour to Central Asian countries.

However, relatives remember Imtiaz as someone who stayed clear of any trouble.

According to the information they gathered from Imtiaz’s friends, he had dropped his friend near Cheranallore bridge at around 10.30 p.m. on the fateful night, while returning from a social gathering at Cherthala.

Even though Imtiaz’s house was a 15-minute drive away, he did not reach home and his mobiles went offline around 11 p.m.

It was only a couple of days ago that the police tracked the missing SIMs, which are now suspected to have reached the hands of migrant labourers.

Residents in the colony said that Imtiaz and his family moved in five months ago and they did not know much about him. Hence, relatives are clueless on who could have been among the three or four persons for whom Imtiaz stopped his car.

Another chance could be that the gang stopping Imtiaz at the entrance of the housing colony had disguised themselves as a Christmas carol party.

Some of the relatives even suspect that the murder was committed elsewhere, as nobody could corroborate the car being at the spot, where it was found the next day, during night.