By IANS,
Mumbai : Businessman Iqbal Kaskar, brother of India’s most wanted mafia don Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar, escaped unhurt when two unidentified gunmen opened fire at him outside his residence in south Mumbai late Tuesday, police said. His aide was killed in the incident.Barely minutes later, members of the public managed to catch the fleeing duo and handed them over to police at the Pydhonie Police station, but officials declined to confirm the development.
Iqbal’s driver-cum-bodyguard Arif Syed Abubaker sustained bullet injuries in the chest in the attack which occurred as the two were standing outside Iqbal’s Pakmodia street home at around 10 p.m., and succumbed soon afterwards, while another guard was reported hurt in the shoot-out.
Top police officers were closeted with Iqbal, who was rushed by his friends to a “safe location” nearby, and questioned him on the possible motives or the rival gang or gangsters responsible for the attack.
Sensation gripped south Mumbai as the news spread and minutes after the incident, thousands of local residents in the Muslim-dominated area rushed out on the streets.
Police swung into action and put up road blocks in the area, leading to traffic jams in the congested area.
According to eyewitnesses, Iqbal and his bodyguard were standing outside when two persons came speeding on a motorcycle and fired at least five rounds in Iqbal’s direction, but missed him.
However, Arif was injured fatally and later declared dead. Another person, who chased the assailants on a motorcycle, also sustained minor injuries.
Senior police officers rushed to the scene of the crime and swiftly put the entire locality under a tight security blanket and launched investigations into the incident amid apprehensions of retaliatory action by Dawood’s men, known as the notorious “D-Company”.
Wanted in connection with a murder case and land-grabbing cases, including for the Sara-Sahara Shopping Complex, Iqbal was deported from Dubai in 2003.
However, he was acquitted in the cases for lack of sufficient evidence and was leading an ordinary life.