(TOI)
KATHMANDU. One year after Nepal's controversial cable TV tycoon Jamim Shah was killed in a public road in the capital's diplomatic area, a second controversial public figure survived a gun attack inside Nepal's most tightly guarded prison by a 42-year-old Indian hit man with at least five operations on his record.
Yunus Ansari, son of former forest minister Salim Ansari, was shot from close range by Jagjit Singh, a resident of Kanpur Road in Lucknow, who police said had also killed Ram Prasad Yadav and Brijesh Singh in India in the past and targeted three more, who however survived.
A manhunt has been launched for Singh's accomplices, Ramu Duvedi, 35, and Suresh Duvedi, 30, with a NRS 50,000 reward offered for their capture or further information. Additional Inspector General of Police Arjun Jung Shahi said the border exit points have been alerted. Police are also investigating if Charles Sobhraj, now doing time in the same Central Jail, for the murder of an Amertican backpacker in 1975.
Shahi said Singh had been visiting Sobhraj regularly for a month to keep a tab on Ansari, especially during the time he used to receive visitors. On Thursday, Singh went inside the prison wearing a jacket that had a secret pocket. A revolver, made in England, was hidden there and the constables on guard duty failed to detect it while searching him before waving him in.
A long narrow room partitioned into two by a wire mesh serves as the visitors' room where rows of prisoners stand on one side talking to visitors on the other, under the watchful eyes of guards. Ansari was in conversation with his brother and sister-in-law when Singh shot him. Though the bullet was intended for the hear from close range, a watchful guard jostled Singh's hand and the bullet instead hit Ansari in the shoulder. He was taken to the Norvic Interational Hospital while guards overpowered Singh.
This is a new twist to the saga that started in January 2010 when Ansari was arrested from his own residence in Kathmandu valley after a surveillance team caught his bodyguard Kashiram Adhikari receiving fake Indian notes worth Rs 2.5 million and almost 4 kg of heroin in a hotel from a Pakistani courier, Mohammad Sajjid.
Both Ansari and Jamim Shah are alleged to have been kingpins of a fake Indian currency racket running from Pakistan through Nepal, Bangladesh and the Middle East with the reins controlled by one of the most wanted men in the world, Dawood Ibrahim. A month after Ansari's arrest and imprisonment, Shah was shot dead in his own car while going home from the gym. The motorcyclist who edged close to the car brought to a halt during rush hour traffic and the pillion rider who got down and pumped the bullets into the unsuspecting Shah, were never found or identified though a subsequent police investigation unearthed the involvement of policemen in the meticulously planned killing.
Admitting lapses, police authorities said a three-member high-level team had been formed under Additional Inspector General of Police Rabindra Pratap Shah to probe the incident. Meanwhile, Ansari's enraged parents stormed the hospital, accusing the "Indian Embassy" in Kathmandu of being behind the attempt. Salim Miyan Ansari, who is also whispered to have had mafia links, said he and his family had been receiving threats but when they asked police to ensure better security for Yunus, he was prevented from visiting the prison.
There is speculation that Shah's killing was planned by India's Research and Analysis Wing. Indian don Babloo Srivastava, now behind bars in a UP jail, is believed to have been the involved in the planning. But though Nepal sent a police team to Bareilly Jail to speak with Babloo, they were not given permission by the Indian authorities.
KATHMANDU. One year after Nepal's controversial cable TV tycoon Jamim Shah was killed in a public road in the capital's diplomatic area, a second controversial public figure survived a gun attack inside Nepal's most tightly guarded prison by a 42-year-old Indian hit man with at least five operations on his record.
Yunus Ansari, son of former forest minister Salim Ansari, was shot from close range by Jagjit Singh, a resident of Kanpur Road in Lucknow, who police said had also killed Ram Prasad Yadav and Brijesh Singh in India in the past and targeted three more, who however survived.
A manhunt has been launched for Singh's accomplices, Ramu Duvedi, 35, and Suresh Duvedi, 30, with a NRS 50,000 reward offered for their capture or further information. Additional Inspector General of Police Arjun Jung Shahi said the border exit points have been alerted. Police are also investigating if Charles Sobhraj, now doing time in the same Central Jail, for the murder of an Amertican backpacker in 1975.
Shahi said Singh had been visiting Sobhraj regularly for a month to keep a tab on Ansari, especially during the time he used to receive visitors. On Thursday, Singh went inside the prison wearing a jacket that had a secret pocket. A revolver, made in England, was hidden there and the constables on guard duty failed to detect it while searching him before waving him in.
A long narrow room partitioned into two by a wire mesh serves as the visitors' room where rows of prisoners stand on one side talking to visitors on the other, under the watchful eyes of guards. Ansari was in conversation with his brother and sister-in-law when Singh shot him. Though the bullet was intended for the hear from close range, a watchful guard jostled Singh's hand and the bullet instead hit Ansari in the shoulder. He was taken to the Norvic Interational Hospital while guards overpowered Singh.
This is a new twist to the saga that started in January 2010 when Ansari was arrested from his own residence in Kathmandu valley after a surveillance team caught his bodyguard Kashiram Adhikari receiving fake Indian notes worth Rs 2.5 million and almost 4 kg of heroin in a hotel from a Pakistani courier, Mohammad Sajjid.
Both Ansari and Jamim Shah are alleged to have been kingpins of a fake Indian currency racket running from Pakistan through Nepal, Bangladesh and the Middle East with the reins controlled by one of the most wanted men in the world, Dawood Ibrahim. A month after Ansari's arrest and imprisonment, Shah was shot dead in his own car while going home from the gym. The motorcyclist who edged close to the car brought to a halt during rush hour traffic and the pillion rider who got down and pumped the bullets into the unsuspecting Shah, were never found or identified though a subsequent police investigation unearthed the involvement of policemen in the meticulously planned killing.
Admitting lapses, police authorities said a three-member high-level team had been formed under Additional Inspector General of Police Rabindra Pratap Shah to probe the incident. Meanwhile, Ansari's enraged parents stormed the hospital, accusing the "Indian Embassy" in Kathmandu of being behind the attempt. Salim Miyan Ansari, who is also whispered to have had mafia links, said he and his family had been receiving threats but when they asked police to ensure better security for Yunus, he was prevented from visiting the prison.
There is speculation that Shah's killing was planned by India's Research and Analysis Wing. Indian don Babloo Srivastava, now behind bars in a UP jail, is believed to have been the involved in the planning. But though Nepal sent a police team to Bareilly Jail to speak with Babloo, they were not given permission by the Indian authorities.
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