Interpol help sought to nab Muthappa Rai

By K.V. Subramanya

BANGALORE, JAN. 13. The Bangalore City Police have sought the Interpol's help in nabbing the underworld don, Muthappa Rai, who tops the list of the most wanted criminals here and lives abroad.

Highly-placed sources told The Hindu that the City Police had sent all the documents to the Interpol Wing of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) so that a ``red corner'' notice could be issued to police forces abroad.

The Interpol Wing of the CBI has forwarded the documents to the Interpol, and the City police are awaiting a word from the External Affairs Ministry in this regard, sources said.

In the absence of an extradition treaty between India and Dubai, the City police were unable to nab Rai, who shifted his base from Bangalore to Dubai about eight years ago.

After an extradition treaty was signed between the two nations last year, the City police approached the Interpol Wing of the CBI to get Rai arrested.

But, soon after the signing of the treaty, like many men of his ilk, Rai too moved out of Dubai and is now shuttling between Egypt, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Australia and Switzerland, sources said.

Further, as Rai has some ``right contacts'' in Saudi Arabia, it has become difficult to nab him although extradition is now possible, sources said.

While police claim that they have not been able to identify the exact location of Rai, there are some police officers in Bangalore who are said to be in regular touch with the don.

A senior officer of the City Police unit said: ``I have come to know that some of my officers have contacts with Rai. But as long as there are no specific complaints against them, no action can be taken.''

According to sources, Rai reportedly helped the police in ``arresting'' Dilip Naik, main accused in the murder of Karwar MLA, Vasanth Asnotikar, when he fled to Dubai after the legislator was shot dead by two ``supari'' killers belonging to the Amar Naik gang of Mumbai.

Rai, who is associated with the Pakistan-based ganglord, Dawood Ibrahim, for almost over a decade, was the first to bring the ``bhai log'' from Mumbai to Bangalore in 1989, when the then reigning underworld don of the City, M.P. Jayraj, was shot dead in Siddapura police limits.

After he fled to Dubai, Rai has been calling the shots from the Gulf nation, and is allegedly associated with most of the shootouts reported in Bangalore in recent years.

The sensational murder of realtor, Subbaraju, who was shot dead by hired killers from Mumbai in Vayalikaval police limits on January 5, is also suspected to have been carried out at Rai's behest.

A senior police officer connected with the investigation said that while Rai's involvement in the murder was confirmed, it was now for them to establish who had sought the gangster's help to get Subbaraju eliminated.

Subbaraju's chartered accountant has told the police that Rai had threatened to kill the realtor. Two henchmen of Rai and his former advocate, K. Santosh Kumar, have been arrested. In an interview to a Kannada weekly, Rai has claimed responsibility for the killing.

It is also said that Arif and Syed, who were taken into custody by a City police team at Santa Cruz Airport in Mumbai, had ``surrendered'' in accordance with Rai's advice. A police officer from West Division is said to have ``negotiated'' the surrender with Rai.

Rai was also in the news after a sharpshooter from Mumbai, Eric D'Souza, was shot dead in an encounter by the City police in the Highgrounds police limits in December 1999. It was alleged that Eric was sent to Bangalore by Rai to eliminate his one-time associate and now an arch rival, Sridhar, editor of the Kannada weekly, AGNI. Similarly, in a case of mistaken identity, Rai's hitmen from Mumbai shot dead Seena, Sridhar's driver, at Yarabnagar in Banashankari police limits couple of years ago.

Apart from Rai, his close associate, Bannanje Raja alias Rajendra Kumar alias RK, who also lives abroad, is among the six most wanted criminals who have been listed on the City police's website.

Bannanje Raja, who along with Arif and Syed, was involved in the Durga Travels shootout case of 1998 fled the country there after.

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