MUMBAI, February 14: Hawala operator and cousin of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, Dilawar Ismail Antulay (38) was shot dead by three unidentified assailants at Goregoan (east) this afternoon.While the police say the shootout could be a fallout of a property dispute in north west Mumbai, it is strongly suspected that the rival Chhota Rajan gang could be behind the murder trying to eliminate Dawood's relative.
According to the Goregaon police, the shootout took place around 1.15 pm on Jaiprakash Road No 1 opposite Harvey Industrial estate in Goregaon (east) when Antulay was returning home for lunch, the police further added.
The assailants, aged between 25 and 30 years, accosted him barely a few hundred meters from where Antulay lived and pumped five bullets in his body from point blank range. Antulay, who was shot on his head and chest, died on the spot. He was rushed to the Cooper hospital in Juhu but was declared dead before admission, the police said.Eyewitnesses told the police that the assailantswere last seen fleeing towards the Goregaon Railway station.
Neighbours informed Antulay's wife after the incident, who in turn informed her brother-in-law Aslam. Aslam lodged a complaint at Goregaon police station.
Investigations have revealed that Antulay left Hotel Sai Place on S V Road, Goregaon West, around 1 pm and took a rickshaw to Goregaon station. On reaching the station, he crossed the overhead bridge and was walking towards Jaiprakash Nagar, where he lived.
The police believe that the assailants were following Antulay after he left the hotel and were on the lookout to kill him. The deceased used to attend office at Hotel Sai Palace regularly around 11.30 am. The hotel was in the name of his father Ismail.
Sources in the police department disclosed that Antulay was a maternal cousin of Dubai-based underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. He was allegedly involved in a property dispute regarding another hotel in Goregaon (east).The police suspect that while Antulay was using the hotel as a front, hewas also involved in extortion and hawala activities.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
