Slain Telangana gangster had 24 guns including 3 AK 47s

Hyderabad: Renegade Maoist-turned-gangster Nayeem, who was gunned down by police in 2016, possessed more than 20 firearms including three AK-47 rifles and one sten gun.

He also had nine pistols, three revolvers, seven tapanchas and one SBBL 12 bore gun.

The notorious gangster, who was killed in an alleged exchange of fire with the police in Shadnagar town on August 8, 2016, also possessed two hand grenades, six magazines, 616 live rounds of various weapons, one bullet proof jacket, 10 gelatine sticks, five kgs ammonium nitrate, 10 meters of fuse wire 30 electrical and non-electrical detonators.

The shocking revelations were made by Telangana police in a reply to Forum for Good Governance (FGG), an NGO, under Right to Information Act (RTI).

FGG's M. Padmanabh Reddy wanted to know the details of the properties belonging to Nayeem seized so far.

Like the firearms the gangster possessed, cash, vehicles and other properties seized are also astonishing.

As per the RTI reply, police seized more than Rs 2.16 crore cash, 1.944 kg gold, 2,482 kg silver, 21 four-wheelers, 26 motor cycles and 602 mobile phones. The police also seized 752 documents of lands he owned.

Police revealed that the seized properties were deposited in courts. On the details of the properties proposed to be seized, the police said the matter is under investigation and hence no information can be shared.

Following the disclosures, Padmanabha Reddy, Secretary, FGG urged Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan to direct the Chief Secretary to order probe as to how Nayeem could get 24 licenes and registration of thousands of acres of land.

He said the matter also needed a detailed probe from the angle of his terrorist links. "For a common man to get a license to possess a gun is a herculean task. Lot of police enquiries are made before the license is given. For the guns like AK 47or sten gun licences are not given. Hence there is a need for detailed inquiry as to how licences for 24 guns were given and how he was having AK 47 rifles," he wrote.

He also sought an inquiry into the role of police, politicians, revenue and registration departments in Nayeem case.

Padmanabha Reddy said Nayeem had left behind a legacy of how police, politicians, revenue, registration department can violate the law at will. "Hundreds of people suffered at the hands of Nayeem and his goons. With the backing of police and politicians, innocent people were threatened and their lands were grabbed, people who resisted were physically harmed and even killed."

He wanted to know why data from seized mobile phones was not used for probe. "602 cell phones were recovered from his house, call data of these phones will give clear picture of with whom (especially police and politicians) he had contacts but it was not done, even in small cases call data from the accused cell phone is tracked then why it was not done in Nayeem case," he asked

He pointed out that Nayeem reportedly had a habit of maintaining diary and record all the activities he carried out. "About 130 diaries were seized from his residence, the content in the diaries is not taken as evidence and they are just deposited in the court. So far the inquiry conducted is tardy, superficial and at this rate the big fish will escape and case drags on."

In October, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing Nayeem's nexus with politicians and police, had given clean chit to all 25 police officers whose names had surfaced during investigation.

In a RTI reply to FGG, SIT stated that none of the police officers was cited as accused in any case.

The names of two Additional Superintendents of Police, seven Deputy Superintendents of Police, 13 inspectors, two head constables and one constable had surfaced for their alleged links with Nayeem and his associates.

FGG had earlier appealed to the governor to hand over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). It alleged attempts to dilute the SIT investigation.

"About 240 cases were registered after the encounter of Nayeem. It is stated that in 173 cases charge sheets were filed, but even after four years not a single case was brought to its logical conclusion," Padmanabha Reddy said.

Nayeem alias Mohammed Nayeemuddin was killed in an alleged exchange of fire with police in Shadnagar town on August 8, 2016.

The most wanted gangster was involved in land grabbing, abduction and extortion and he allegedly had links with politicians and police officers.