The Siddapura police have taken gangster Rizwan, 35, into custody from the Central Prison, Parappana Agrahara, to probe his alleged role in a plot to eliminate a rival habitual offender while he was in prison in April this year. An FIR has been filed against Rizwan and nine of his associates for attempting to kill his rival Raghu in front of a hospital in Basavanagudi. He was driving towards the hospital to visit his wife and newborn child, and escaped.
The plot came to light when the police, during a random vehicle check on T. Mariyappa Road in June, intercepted a known habitual offender, Naveen, 27, who was on a scooter with two of his associates. ASI Shivakumar tried to stop Naveen who attacked him with a chopper in an attempt to escape. The ASI along with the help of two of his associates gave a chase, and caught Naveen and two others on the scooter, Prasanna and Somashekhar.
When questioned, Naveen allegedly confessed that he was working for Rizwan, who assigned him the task of eliminating his rival Raghu. “Rizwan promised Naveen that he would provide him with the required information about Raghu and supply money and weapons needed for the job. He also promised to take care of his legal expenses in the case if he was arrested,” said a senior police officer.
As per the deal, Naveen after his release stayed in a rented room in Byrasandra where he was contacted by Rizwan associates and provided five men and weapons to carry out the attack .On April 13, the gang tried to attack Raghu while he was approaching the hospital, but escaped.
Rizwan made headlines last December when he held a party in prison and cut a cake with his associates. A video clip recorded from a mobile phone went viral prompting the prison authorities to carry out search operations. “He is a gangster from South Bengaluru with over 15 criminal cases pending against him. He was arrested under the Goonda Act in 2019,” said a police offcer.
The South Division police have launched a special drive against anti-social elements and crackdown on gangs. “There are about 50 petty gangs operating in the city and we have launched a special drive to flush them out,” said a police official.
They recently arrested Rajendra, 37, believed to be an associate of another gangster, Ravi. According to the police, Ravi, who fled the country, met Rashid Malbari.
