Mumbai: Sudden mob violence in Srinagar on Tuesday morning almost jeopardised the Mumbai Police Crime Branch’s operation to bring murder convict Sajjad Mughal, who had jumped parole last year, back to Mumbai, officers said on Wednesday.
Mughal, convicted of the murder of lawyer Pallavi Purkayastha, had gone missing after being granted parole in February last year. A special Crime Branch team was formed to trace him. The team, led by Police Inspector Sanjay Nikam, picked him up on Tuesday and brought him to Mumbai.
Officers who were part of the team said that after picking up Mughal from Gagangir near Sonmarg, they were on their way to the airport in a private vehicle when they encountered mob violence on the way.
Middle of a riot
“We were passing through Srinagar and found ourselves in the middle of a riot, where locals were pelting stones at each other. The local police even had to fire gunshots in the air. We were worried that Mughal might take advantage of the chaos and escape. All he had to do was shout for help, and the anti-establishment sentiment in the region would have taken care of the rest,” said one officer.
He said that two teams of the Nashik police, which had gone to Kashmir on Mughal’s trail on two different occasions in the past, had been assaulted by the locals.
Much to the Crime Branch’s relief, Mughal was scared and cowered down on the vehicle floor. The driver, who was a local, used his knowledge of the roads and managed to drive away.
Intention of fleeing
According to the police, Mughal had secured parole with the sole intention of fleeing to Kashmir.
“While we were making inquiries at the Nashik Central Jail following his disappearance, we learned that he had told a couple of his fellow inmates that he had no intention of rotting in jail till his death, and that he was not coming back once he got out on parole,” the officer said.
Better salary
The lure of higher pay brought Mughal out of hiding from Baramulla, where he was working on a daily wage basis earlier. Since Baramulla is a restricted area, the Crime Branch officers, who were posing as tourists, had returned empty-handed thrice before.
“Mughal was earning ₹250 to ₹300 a day in his earlier job in a village 4 km away from his home town, Salamabad. The project in Gagangir offered a fixed monthly salary of ₹12,000 and more if one put in overtime, plus accommodation and weekly offs. Mughal was earning close to ₹15,000 with overtime when we picked him up,” said inspector Sanjay Nikam, who was leading the team.
The Crime Branch team, which reached Gagangir a week ago after receiving a tip-off about Mughal working there, kept a daily watch on the site to identify him. They were dressed in pherans, the traditional Kashmiri long coats, and would spend hours at tea stalls or restaurants close to the site, keeping an eye out for Mughal.
“We finally spotted Mughal working at the periphery of the project and discreetly surrounded him from all sides. I went up to him and drew him aside, asking if I could have a word. As soon as he was far enough from the others, we closed in on him. I asked him if he recognised me, and he said he did not, but had a fair idea who we were,” said Mr. Nikam, who headed the Crime Branch Unit IV which had arrested Mughal in 2012.
Mughal was handed over to the Nashik police on Tuesday morning.