Former naxalite and gangster Nayeem and one of his accomplice was killed in a gunfight with the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Shadnagar, 60 km from Hyderabad, on Monday morning.
The NIA personnel surrounded a house and exchanged gunfire before finally overcoming the militant. The officials forcibly vacated neighbours from the place. Grey Hounds police officials participated in the operation.
According to DGP Anurag Sharma, Nayeemuddin’s gang member opened fire on police officials late on Sunday night, after the cops had surrounded the house. The gang member was shot dead in cross fire.
Nayeemuddin was involved in extortion cases and was an accused in the murder of IPS officer NS Vyas, who was in charge of anti-naxal operations. A former member of the People’s War Group, he was also involved in over 20 murder cases in the area.
Based on the information given by the extortion complainant, police began tracking the gang. They got an alert that the callers were moving in a particular car. “Our teams identified the vehicle on Monday morning and spotted it near a house at Millennium township on Shadnagar outskirts,” said Mahbubnagar SP Rema Rajeshwari.
On seeing the approaching police party, one of the persons travelling in the car opened fire at the police. “Even as we returned fire, one person carrying a firearm got out of the vehicle and ran away. Another person too tried to flee but collapsed after we opened fire,” she said.
Police officials had evacuated the millennium township late Sunday night before conducting the operation.
Police officials are yet to ascertain if all the suspects are members of Nayeemuddin’s group or if they belong to any terror outfit.
Two ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti MLAs had complained against Nayeemuddin’s extortion and land deals in Mahbubnagar and Nalgonda district to Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. They had also complained that they had received veiled threats from Nayeemuddin not to intervene in his activities. Police provided bullet proof cars to the two MLAs.
