By TCN Special Correspondent,
Ahmedabad: The investigation into the extortion racket in Gujarat that was allegedly operated through a joint nexus of politicians-police-gangsters received a setback with a prime accused and gangster Sylvester Daniel escaping from the custody of a team of Gujarat police in Rajasthan last night.
Sylvester allegedly involved in several cases of murder, loot and attempt to murder in Rajasthan, was arrested in 2005 by the Gujarat police. As a member of Sohrabuddin Sheikh gang, he was also involved in firing at the premises of Popular Builders in Ahmedabad allegedly at the behest of the senior Gujarat cadre IPS official Abhay Chudasma and former Gujarat Home Minister Amit Shah. While Chudasma arrested in April 2010 in connection with allegations of extortion from Popular Builders and others, is still in jail, Amit Shah, who was also arrested subsequently, was released on bail on Supreme Court’s orders. However, Shah was externed from Gujarat and is not allowed to enter the state without court orders. He is living in Delhi for more than a year.
Sylvester was kept in Baroda Central Jail. On Friday, he was taken to Udaipur district in Rajasthan in connection with a court case related to the murder of Hamid Lala, another gangster in Rajasthan. He was escorted in a private vehicle by a Gujarat team of five policemen including a police sub inspector, a commando and three head constables.
While returning back after court appearance, the police team with Sylvester stopped at a roadside hotel for meal. Sylvester allegedly went to the toilet of the hotel for answering nature’s call and escaped while the cops were waiting for him.
Though a case has been registered in this connection in Udaipur, Sohrabuddin’s brother Rubabuddin is not ready to believe the police statement. He told mediapersons that there appeared to be a conspiracy behind Sylvester’s escape at the highest level in the police administration and the ruling party coterie in Gujarat.
Sources say that besides being a witness in the Sohrabuddin fake murder case, he was an important witness in the Popular Builders firing case and his testimony during final hearing of the case being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI) could have resulted in conviction of several police officials as also some politicians.
Already a total of 24 policemen, including five IPS officials from Gujarat and Rajasthan, are currently in different jails of Gujarat in connection with the fake encounters of Sohrabuddin and Tulsiram Prajapati. Prajapati was an eyewitness in the fake encounter of Sohrabuddin. But he was killed in another fake encounter by a team of Gujarat police and the matter was being investigated by CBI and several policemen have been arrested in this case.
Rubabuddin suspects that Sylvester might also meet the fate of Sohrabuddin and Prajapati. Sohrabuddin was allegedly eliminated over dispute on sharing of the extortion money from marble dealers of Rajasthan.