Mumbai (The HIndu): The Anti Extortion Cell of the Mumbai Police Crime Branch has arrested a close aide of wanted criminal Shakeel Babumiyan Sheikh alias Chhota Shakeel for allegedly threatening a city-based journalist and also planning to attack him. The police said the accused has a long criminal record and has worked for Shakeel since the 1990s.

The journalist, who also runs a non-governmental organisation, had won the bid for the Delhi Zaika restaurant on Pakmodia street when properties owned by the 1993 bomb blasts accused Dawood Ibrahim were auctioned last year. Mr. Balakrishnan received text messages warning him against bidding for the eatery, and the AEC had initiated investigations into the matter.

The Crime Branch found out that the number was being used by a man identified as Syed Abbas Tublani (47), a resident of Mumbra. While one team kept Tublani under surveillance, another team began digging in its archives to find out if he had a past criminal record. The police found that he had a lengthy record dating back to the 90s, and Tublani was arrested from Mumbra on Thursday night.

The police said that there are currently four cases, which were registered against Tublani in 1996. The cases include three complaints of attempt to murder of which one was an attack on gangster Sadhu Shetty.