Fazlu gang spreading tentacles in Gujarat

VADODARA: Dreaded criminal Fazl-ur-Rehman alias Fazlu is trying to spread his tentacles in Gujarat.
Having shot into limelight through the alleged extortion calls he made on behalf of actress Shilpa Shetty''s parents to the owner of Praful Sarees, it is believed that Fazlu is steadily trying to claw his way into Gujarat, especially through Bharuch, say police sources.
Off late, members of the Fazlu gang have started using Bharuch as a transit point. Sources said that there have also been reports of Bharuch being used as a transit point by members of the Dawood gang. Bharuch has traditionally been a safe haven for these gangs after they commit offences in Mumbai. However, it is believed that Fazlu has been trying to expand his network from Bharuch, sources said.
After kidnapping an Ahmedabad-based trader for a ransom of 1.5 million Hong Kong dollars, Fazlu and his associates had last come into the picture in Gujarat in January 1999. The Gujarat police had foiled an attempt to kidnap industrialist Babul Sanghvi, and arrested five members of Fazlu''s gang.
Though the operation had failed, the gang had made numerous calls to Sanghvi from Mumbai, Darbhanga,Kolkata and Kutch, demanding a ransom of nearly Rs 15 crore.
“Fazlu’s henchmen had been involved in numerous kidnapping cases, two of them being very well-known cases in Gujarat. However, the gang is now more focused on specialising in extortion rather than kidnapping, with the most recent case being the kidnapping of the owner of Praful Sarees,� says DIG CID Crime Ashish Bhatia. “Extorting money from industrialists by this gang is common in Mumbai. Now, there is a chance of them threatening businessmen in Gujarat occasionally.�
Considered to be a close aide of Dawood Ibrahim, Fazlu got actively involved in underworld activities in 1988, after quitting studies in HSC. Fazlu began a life of crime with the kidnapping of a minor girl, Noor Afsana, from Bandoli village in Bihar. However, he was tried for the crime and spent four years at Darbhanga jail. He is said to have graduated to underworld activities after coming into contact with the notorious Jameel Khan.
It started with extortion and murder under criminals like Jameel Khan and Babloo Shrivastava, but Fazlu soon found his way to Dubai in 1997. Police sources add that he directed his operations in India from Dubai. Fazlu then left Dubai for Malaysia, and more recently is believed to be operating from Bangladesh.
Fazl-ur-Rehman, who has at least 30 cases of extortion and murder registered against him at police stations across the country, operates under numerous aliases like Ching Chong, Tanvir, Ali and Chandra Mandal.
Criminal activities of Fazlu and his gang have been constantly on the rise. These include kidnapping of bigwigs like Umesh Shroff, owner of Hyatt Regency Hotel in New Delhi, and extorting money from industrialists in Mumbai, UP, Delhi and Gujarat.
A senior police official, on condition of anonymity, said, “There are reports of people with underworld connections using Bharuch as a transit point. Among them, the Dcompany is famous, but Fazlu nay be setting foot into Gujarat via Bharuch.�