Mumbai The special MCOCA (the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, 1999) court sentenced two men to life imprisonment for killing 27- year-old Rakesh Chaudhari alias Karim with 47 stab injuries, due to a gang rivalry in Govandi.
The convicts – Shabbir Sayed (27) and Mohammad Jaid Shaikh (29) were members of a gang headed by Abu Baker whereas Chaudhari was the brother of the rival gang leader Rajesh. Both the gangs were involved in illegal electricity supply in the area and cable business as well.
Apart from the murder, the MCOCA court also convicted Sayed and Shaikh for being members of the organised crime syndicate led by Abu Baker and sentenced them to life imprisonment. The court also imposed fines of ₹11 lakh on them.
The prosecution claimed that Rajesh had a monopoly over illegal electricity supply and providing cable connections in the locality and when he was arrested for his alleged role in a robbery case, Rakesh looked after the gang’s operations. In the meantime, taking advantage of Rajesh’s absence, Abu started entering the businesses and began marking his presence in the locality.
The prosecution claimed that the deceased had slapped the accused. Over a period of time, Rajesh conceded some territory to Abu Baker and things went smoothly between them. The prosecution claimed Abu, however, kept a grudge against Rakesh.
He kept quiet till Rajesh was out on parole. The moment he went back to prison, Abu started spreading his area. It was alleged that while the other two accused were in prison, Abu also took over their business, despite resistance from Rakesh.
The prosecution claimed that eventually, on Abu Baker’s instructions, the two convicts on August 15, 2018, assaulted Rakesh with swords and killed him.
The two were booked under MCOCA as the prosecution claimed that Abu was running an organised crime syndicate and had ordered the killing for pecuniary gains and supremacy in illegal electricity supply in the locality.
