Estate agent assaulted for filing RTI, four arrested

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Estate agent assaulted for filing RTI, four arrested


Mumbai, November 30 Thirty-five-year old estate agent from Malvani, Firoz Ibrahim Khan, was allegedly assaulted by three people for filing an RTI application two months back seeking details of the residential societies formed on the MHADA allotted plots at Charkop and Malvani.

The Kandivli police on Thursday arrested four persons in this regard, and are on lookout for one more accused.

According to the police, on November 15, Khan received a call on his mobile from a woman who identified herself as Sara. She told Khan that she wanted to buy a flat and needed his help. Khan agreed to meet her at Atul Towers on Mathura Das Road, Kandivli on November 17. He reached the spot at 7 am and decided to wait for the client. However, he was attacked by three men who hit him on his head with an iron rod. Khan, though he was injured, managed to raise an alarm and the attackers fled. He lodged a complaint with the Kandivli police station on the same day.

“Initially, the investigating team was clueless about the motive of the attack as he was not robbed. We managed to trace the caller and arrested the girl from Malvani on November 27,” said DCP (Zone 11) Makrand Ranade. He added, on further interrogation, the twenty-one-year old girl identified herself as Hiral Sharma and disclosed the names and whereabouts of the three attacker — Amiruddin Talukdar (25), Mohammad Ali Sheikh (20) and Shafi Ahmed Sheikh (23). The three were arrested on Thursday.

Interrogation of the three arrested accused led to a wider conspiracy. According to Surendra Jaiswal, senior police inspector of Kandivli police station, “Talukdar, who was out on bail after he was arrested in 2001 in connection of a murder case in Malvani was given a ‘supari’ (contract killing) of Rs 50,000 for killing Khan by Ismail Ibrahim Sayyad, another estate broker and his manager, Akhtar Tahir Sheikh. The girl who has a past record of petty theft at Malvani was used as a bait by Talukdar to convince Khan to meet her.”

Khan said, “Two months back, I had filed an RTI application on behalf of my friend seeking details of the residential societies formed on the MHADA allotted plots at Charkop and Malvani. I had doubts that some people in the construction business and estate agencies were using illegal means for forming these colonies. It was after the arrested supari killer mentioned the names of Ismail and Akhtar, I realised the motive of the attack. It is evident that they had adopted illegal means to form societies on the MHADA land.”

The Kandivali police arrested Akhtar Tahir, while Ismail Sayyad is still at large. Those arrested have been charged for attempt to murder and have been remanded to police custody till December 9.


Estate agent assaulted for filing RTI, four arrested