Mehboob Sr questioned for threatening slain Gujarat riot witness

Investigating the gruesome murder of RTI activist Nadeem Saiyed, the crime branch on Sunday questioned gangster Mehboob Senior. During the probe, crime branch officials found that Senior, a local don of Kalupur area, had called Saiyed four months ago and threatened him.

After the cold-blooded murder of Saiyed on Saturday morning, Senior came under the crime branch scanner during preliminary investigation. According to them, Senior, also an accused in the Kalupur building collapse case, called Saiyed on July 3 this year and asked him to withdraw from the Naroda-Patiya massacre case.

When Senior called him and threatened him, Saiyed was sitting at the residence of his friend, Jayrajsinh Parmar, in Narayan Park area.  After receiving the call from Mehboob on his mobile phone, Saiyed approached Navrangpura police to lodge a compliant against him for the threat call. However, Navrangpura police asked him to approach Gujarat University police.

However, Saiyed's compliant wasn't taken by Gujarat University police station either. Crime branch also learned that it was only after the intervention from a DCP that Saiyed's compliant was finally lodged at Gujarat University police station on August 4, but no action was taken against Senior.    

To get some leads about the motive behind Saiyed's murder, the crime branch grilled Senior regarding the threats he had made to him. However, Senior told the officials that he had only 'requested' and not threatened Saiyed to pull his hand out of the Naroda-Patiya case. Senior also told the officials that he had nothing to do with the activist's murder.

Crime branch also traced the number from which Saiyed was threatened in July. It belonged to one Irfan Shaikh, a resident of Saudagar ni pol in Kalupur. Shaikh also confirmed that the number belonged to him, but it had been used by Senior for a long time. The crime branch is now investigating the motive behind the call by Senior.