Sharpshooter of Gangster Duo Lands in Police Net

BHUBANESWAR: Making further headway into investigation of murder charges against the Dhal Samanta brothers, the Cuttack Police has arrested Arif Khan, a key aide of the siblings, from Tamil Nadu’s Madurai.

Arif (31), who was a major accomplice of the duo, was held from Tirumangalam police limits with the help of Tamil Nadu Police.

Cuttack DCP Sanjeev Arora had constituted a special team which travelled to Madurai and nabbed Arif on Wednesday. A fake voter identity card issued in the name of Rajendra Behera was seized from his possession.

Police Commissioner YB Khurania said Arif’s name had cropped up during investigation into the murder of Dipu Mallick and Om Prakash Swain, former associates of the gangsters. Subsequently, his name came up in the Farooq Tayeb murder too.

Originally, a driver of Sushant and Sushil Dhal Samanta, Arif was elevated as a sharpshooter after he allegedly helped the brothers in the murder of Dipu and Om. He has been involved in a series of crimes in the City. Apart from these three murders, police have tied him to several cases of extortion. Shootouts in Bidanasi and Lalbag police stations apart, he was booked for an abduction in Cantonment area.

During interrogation of the accused in the murders, many associates of the Dhal Samanta brothers had spilled his name. Arif, though, had fled since the gangster siblings were arrested in January last.

After his arrest, his Kafla Bazar home was searched on Wednesday night and sharp weapons were seized. “Cuttack Police will request the court for his remand shortly,” Khurania said.

With Arif’s apprehension, the number of total arrests in the Dhala Samanta case has gone up to 30 whereas the total number of cases registered stands at 18. In Dipu and Om murder cases, 10 persons each have been booked. In the Farooq murder case, seven persons have been named.

Dipu and Om were killed in November, 2013 and their bodies disposed of in Jharkhand. Farooq was shot down in his Malgodown office way back in 2004.

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