Ahmedabad, July 28 — A Rs 20,000 contract allegedly given to assault a shopkeeper has led Vivekanandnagar Police in Ahmedabad Rural to uncover a pre-planned criminal conspiracy behind an attempt-to-murder case, with four accused arrested and weapons, vehicles, and mobile phones seized, police said on Tuesday.
The case was registered at Vivekanandnagar Police Station after complainant Nandkumar Mudaliyar (51) was attacked at his shop in Sector-4/K on July 9 at around 8:15 p.m.
According to police, an unidentified person entered the complainant’s shop and allegedly attacked him with a knife with the intention of killing him. The accused reportedly inflicted around four knife blows, causing serious injuries, before fleeing from the spot. A case was registered under Sections 109(1) and 118(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
Following instructions from senior police officers to detect unsolved cases involving bodily offences, Vivekanandnagar Police and the Ahmedabad Rural Local Crime Branch (LCB) launched an investigation using technical evidence and human intelligence sources.
Police said the LCB team first arrested Imtiyaz Sheikh, who allegedly carried out the knife attack. During interrogation, he allegedly revealed that he needed money and had discussed the matter with his associate, Saro alias Battam Ansari.
Investigators said Saro alias Battam Ansari allegedly introduced Imtiyaz to Azruddin alias Mama Sheikh, who then connected him with advocate Rajeshkumar Mahida. Police alleged that Mahida had a financial dispute with the complainant over money taken against a house mortgage.
According to the investigation, Mahida allegedly paid Rs 20,000 to arrange an assault on the complainant, and a criminal conspiracy was planned to execute the attack.
Police said the investigation revealed that the accused allegedly conducted reconnaissance of the complainant using a four-wheeler vehicle before sending Imtiyaz on a two-wheeler with a knife to carry out the attack.
The arrested accused have been identified as Imtiyaz Sheikh (45), an auto-rickshaw driver from Vatva area in Ahmedabad; Azruddin alias Mama Sheikh (22), an auto-rickshaw driver originally from Qutubnagar in Vatva; advocate Rajeshkumar Sankanbhai Mahida (33), a resident of Ahmedabad; and Saro alias Battam Naushad Ansari (26), a resident of Qutubnagar in Vatva.
Police seized an iron knife, a two-wheeler, an auto-rickshaw, a car, and four mobile phones from the accused. Further legal action against all the accused is underway.