Peace crusader dies, tension at Wellesley

KOLKATA: Mohammad Salauddin, who had taken up cudgels to end the reign of terror unleashed by dreaded gangsters of the city, succumbed to bullet injuries on Sunday. He was shot at by goons at his residence on Saturday.
Salauddin was admitted to SSKM Hospital with bullet injuries. He died at 6.40 am.
The locality became tense after receiving the news of Salauddin’s death.Acquaintances of Salauddin tried to ransack prime accused Akhtar Alam’s house. They even tried to assault his family members. However, police intervened to disperse the mob. A huge force has been deployed in the area to prevent any fresh violence.
Akhtar’s brother-in-law Mohammad Rehan was arrested on Saturday. Akhtar surrendered before the antirowdy squad of the city police’s detective department late on Saturday.
Wellesley Second Lane was known as a haven for gangsters like Akhtar, Gabbar and Gudda. However, in 2001, the local residents formed a peace committee to keep out criminals from the area. They hounded out Akhtar in 2001. Since then, he had repeatedly tried to return but failed because of stiff resistance . For the last six years, the area had been peaceful. The bullets fired at Salauddin — an important member of the committee — shattered the tranquillity on Saturday.
Gabbar and Sona were introduced to the world of crime by Akhtar. Gabbar later turned against Akhtar and sparked a bitter gang war. Police said Gabbar’s most trusted aide, Ullu Raju, recently tried to gun down Akhtar at Topsia. Raju had hired Salauddin’s auto for the purpose . Police suspect this could have prompted Akhtar to take revenge on Salauddin.
Police and locals feel that Salauddin’s death could be the beginning of a series of reprisals. Police suspect that having failed once, Raju may make another attempt on Akhtar. Salauddin’s death will also considerably weaken the peace committee in the area.