Mumbai/Cuttack: Nearly a week after dreaded gangster Mirza Akhbar Baig alias Dukha was killed in bomb explosion in a shop at Mangi Gada in Nemalo, Cuttack, the police rescued a 20-year-old woman abducted by him from Odisha four years ago, from his house in Mumbai’s Shivaji Nagar.
The woman was 16 when she was abducted from the Nemalo area by Baig. She was rescued on Tuesday and handed over to her parents.
On Tuesday, six of Baig’s associates – Mirza Faizal Baig, Mirza Hakim Baig, Sk Matlub Ali, Debendra Choudhury, Mirza Jahid Baig and Niyaj Khan were arrested from various locations in Cuttack and Jagatsinghpur.
The police seized four kilograms of explosive materials, illegal firearms, a sword, four motorcycles and several mobile phones from their possession.
According to Prateek Singh, SP, Cuttack (Rural), Baig was killed while making bombs on May 28. A special police team was formed to trace his associates. Baig, from Nahalpur village in Nemalo, was involved in a series of criminal cases and lived at Shivaji Nagar in Mumbai.
Baig had returned to his village on May 25 and that same night, he along with his associates set ablaze an ambulance in Kakudiapada village to create panic among locals. A separate case was registered at the Nemalo police station in this connection.
After that incident, Baig went back to Mumbai and returned to Odisha again on May 27. At Nemalo, he had put up at the rear portion of a shop belonging to Mirza Faizal Baig at Mangi Gada. That was where he made crude bombs.
The police have unearthed that Baig was making the bombs to use against a Mumbai-based businessman from whom he was attempting to extort Rs 2 crore. On May 27 and 28, Baig and his associates had threatened the businessman to pay up, failing which they would bomb his house and kill his family members, the police said.
They were preparing the bombs for this purpose when one exploded, injuring Baig seriously. He was rushed to SCB MCH where he succumbed during treatment. The shop was totally destroyed in the explosion. Investigation has also revealed that Baig and his associates had already extorted nearly Rs 1 crore from the businessman over the last two-three years. He had not complained to the police, fearing for his life and the well-being of his family members.
