Wife pleads for Wahab's freedom

Prashant Dayal / TNN / Nov 5, 2008, 00:50 IST

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Reshma Bano, wife of dreaded underworld don of Gujarat, Abdul Wahab Shaikh, who has completed 14 years of life imprisonment on July 12, has written to home minister Amit Shah to free him

AHMEDABAD: The once-dreaded underworld don of Gujarat, Abdul Wahab Shaikh, 40, wants to be free. Confined to a wheel chair after he suffered a stroke that paralysed him waist-down, Wahab completed 14 years of life imprisonment on July 12 this year. But the state government has not yet released him.
His wife Reshma Bano has written a plea to state home minister Amit Shah that the family is ready to leave Gujarat if the don is released.
Wahab was convicted for murdering a bootlegger, Bhagwandas Sindhi. There were a total of 35 criminal offences of ransom kidnapping, extortion, criminal intimidation registered against Wahab. He was convicted in five.Between 1985 and 1995 Gujarats multi-crore illicit liquor trade was dominated by underworld don Abdul Latif. Later the Latif gang diversified into a variety of crime like kidnapping for ransom, contract killing, illegal arms dealing, triggering bomb blasts and gang wars.
Wahab was Latif��s right-hand man and had a vice-like grip over Shahpur during this period. In 1986, when Wahab was just 18, he made rapid progress in the illicit liquor trade. In the early 90s when Gujarat police started cracking down on the Latif gang, Wahab was caught from Mumbai on July 13, 1994.

Since Wahab was one of the key members of Latif gang, he was kept in police remand for 180 days at a stretch. After five years of trial, he was convicted on August 19, 1999 for life. It is a common practice that the state government on the basis of good conduct while in judicial custody pardons convicts sentenced to life imprisonment.
Recently when faced with the Wahab issue, secretary (home) TS Bisht had told mediapersons that there is no law that makes it mandatory to pardon or release convicts sentenced for life. "Pardon is not granted in cases where there is credible doubt that the convict may get back to his illegal activities," Bisht had said.

On September 30, Reshma Bano wrote to Chief Minister Narendra Modi, MP, LK Advani and Shah that for the last 14 years she and her son have always met Wahab in presence of police guards.
"Since section 268 of CrPC (restrictions on movement) has been imposed on Wahab, he has not got a single bail or furlough in all these 14 years. Kindly revoke CrPC 268. I promise that if you release my husband, I and my family will shift out of Gujarat," said Reshma Bano in her letter.
MAKING OF WAHAB
After passing his SSC, Abdul Wahab discontinued studies and joined Gayatri printing press to support the family because his mother suffered from tuberculosis and his father was rendered immobile due to an ailment.
Right outside the printing press, a boy called Iqbal used to sell liquor illegally. Wahab was attracted by Iqbals high income. He soon teamed up with him and collected Rs 450 to purchase one crate of liquor. And at the formative age of 18, he became a part of the dark underbelly of the city.
Wahab made a name for himself in a very short span in the liquor trade and soon became a trusted aide of Latif. When he was arrested in 1994, he was 26.
This key member of Abdul Latif gang was caught much before Latif was killed in a police encounter in 1998. He also nursed ambitions to launch a rival gang. For six months he was interrogated and grilled intensively and finally sent to judicial custody. Soon, he suffered a paralytic stroke and was confined to a wheel chair. Sources say even inside jail he needs assistance to do his daily chores. His barrack is situated in the high-security zone of the sprawling Sabarmati central jail campus.

About the Author

Prashant Dayal

Prashant Dayal is special correspondent at The Times of India, Ahmedabad. He reports on crime and politics. He likes to work among people and bring out their real-life experiences in his column "Jeevti Varta".

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