Sakinaka police detain duo; chats reveal links to Delhi firing, Meerut visit
Arif Naseem Khan
The Sakinaka police have detained two suspects for allegedly conducting a recce of senior Congress leader and Chandivli constituency candidate Arif Naseem Khan. Sachin Gunjal, DCP of Zone 10, Mumbai police, confirmed that the suspects are currently being interrogated.
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According to sources, the two individuals visited Khan’s office and requested a meeting with him. However, their behaviour raised suspicions among the politician’s security guards, who promptly alerted the police. The suspects were detained for questioning shortly afterwards.
Speaking with mid-day, Arif Naseem Khan said, “I was informed by my workers that on the day of voting, the suspects were in Hiranandani, Powai, where I had gone to visit voting booths. They were asking for my details. On Thursday afternoon, the same individual came to my office to meet me. My security guard noticed something suspicious in their body language and alerted me. I met one of the suspects in my chamber and found his behaviour rude and suspicious, so the police were informed.”
DCP Gunjal confirmed, “We have detained two persons and are questioning them.” Khan further stated, “We checked the WhatsApp conversations of one suspect and found messages exchanged with someone named Lokesh. The chats were suspicious, mentioning the Delhi police and a firing incident.”
The former MLA also alleged that one of the suspects came from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, on November 15 and had been conducting a recce of his locations. “I believe the Mumbai police will uncover if there is any conspiracy. The murder of Baba Siddique was a failure of city police intelligence, as the shooters conducted a month-long recce without being detected,” Khan added.