Bada Tajbagh area’s dreaded goon netted after 7-month hunt in Bhandara

NAGPUR: A dreaded gangster, Feroze Khan alias Abu, and one of his aides Bhuru were arrested in an early dawn operation at a remote village in Bhandara district on Sunday. Abu’s another close aide, Sattar, was also nabbed later in the day in the city.
The action has brought major relief to devotees visiting the popular Bada Tajbagh shrine where Abu and his gang had created terror. Abu and his family stayed in Bada Tajbagh area.Apart from extortion from shopkeepers and devotees, Abu and his gang would forcibly usurp properties in the locality.
According to a senior official, Abu and his gang used to threaten anyone who raised their voice against their illegal activities in the area.
Abu and his gang members have more than 50 offences against them. Apart from extortion, kidnapping, assaults and such serious offences, the gang is also known to be the biggest cartel supplying narcotics like Mephedrone or MD powder in the city.
Abu’s five brothers are already behind the bars along with few other aides in a series of offences. Abu, who had been granted bail from the sessions court raising several eyebrows, was on the run for the last several months.
Zonal DCP Noorul Hasan’s special squad from Sakkardara police station nabbed Abu after relentless efforts stretching over seven months. A combination of WhatsApp chat analysis, call details records and manual intelligence network helped city police in the pursuit which had gathered steam in the last couple of months following an instruction from commissioner of police Amitesh Kumar.
Hasan said Abu had sneaked away before cops could zero in on him on a number of occasions. “The city police squad had missed Abu by a whisker at Mehsana district in Gujarat where we had collaborated with the local cops too. He later managed to flee from his hideout at Amravati and Gadchiroli too,” said Hasan.
Senior PI Dhananjay Patil of Sakkardara police station and his team zeroed in on Abu and his aide at Bhandara. “Since Abu had earlier managed to flee during actions taken in the daytime or evening, this time the raid was conducted at 4.30am. He could not even attempt to flee as cops nabbed him from inside a room,” said a senior official.
Police said while on the run Abu had sneaked into the city to meet aides but left in a hurry after sensing he was being tracked. It’s learnt, Abu was constantly changing his locations and SIM cards.
It’s learnt, Nagpur police’s cyber cell was constantly monitoring Abu’s location. DCP Hasan, Addl CP Navinchandra Reddy and CP Kumar were monitoring the teams of crime branch, Sakkardara police and other special squads.