All national and regional news channels in India have already dedicated a major part of their air time to a single news story for the current week. The story in context is of the arrest of Rajan Nikalaje aka Mumbai gangster Chhota Rajan, once a key member of the D company. Rajan was arrested by Indonesian police in the resort island of Bali after being tipped off by Australian law enforcement agencies on Monday.
Some believe that this arrest might have been staged by Rajan himself as he felt his life was in danger from rival members of D Company of which he was a part of once. He was also thought by some to be on the side of the Indian intelligence agencies for a while and was being used as a bait to nab bigger criminals.
Let us take a look at the 5 most wanted criminals who are on the run
1. Dawood Ibrahim: No surprises, that the founder of the infamous D company and Chhota Rajan's mentor tops the list. The 'Specially Designated Global Terrorist' according to the US intelligence agencies has several charges of murder, conspiracy, cheating, creating counterfeit currency and organized crime against his name. But his most notorious criminal act remains his alleged involvement in the 1993 Bombay serial blasts. He finds himself in the Forbes’ list of Top 11 most dreaded criminals.
2. Chhota Shakeel: Once party to the D company and a close aide of Dawood, Chhota Shakeel is also wanted for the 1993 Bombay blasts and was a key person in arranging the logistics for the terror plot. His real name is Shakeel Babumiya Shaikh.
3. Abdul Subhan Qureshi: He is a member of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). Qureshi is accused of carrying out bomb blasts in Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Delhi besides the Bombay train bombings in 2006. He is often called by his nickname Taqueer.
4. Tiger Memon: His real name is Ibrahim Mushtaq Abdul Razak Nadim Memon.The prime accused in the 1993 Bombay bomb blasts is also a member of the D Company. Interestingly, he got his name after he saved a fellow smuggler evade arrest by driving his car at high speed.
5. Syed Salahuddin: The chief of Hizbul-Mujahideen and commander of the Muttahida Jihad Council is a key terror organizer in the state of Jammu & Kashmir. He is accused of helping the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI in trying to integrate Kashmir with Pakistan. He is also wanted for the Delhi High Court blast in 2011.