Is Bhatkal dead?

Despite no official confirmation on the killing of IM head Riyaz Bhatkal, sources reveal that Rajan's men may have bumped him off

Who killed Riyaz Bhatkal? Was it gangster Chhota Rajan, or, was the job funnelled to an underworld shooter by Indian intelligence agencies?

Even as questions are being raised whether the Indian intelligence pulled off one of the biggest operations by closing in on India's most wanted terrorist and chief of terror outfit Indian Mujahideen (IM) insiders are divided over who killed him.
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Sources said that the agencies could have outsourced the job to Mumbai's underworld shooters.

Though there is no official confirmation yet, sources said that a key member of the Chhota Rajan gang closed in on Bhatkal and opened fire on him.
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Another operative, Nissar Anwar, was killed in the shootout near Karina Market in downtown Karachi.

The agencies prefer to remain tight-lipped as the alleged assassins are still holed up in Pakistan. Any disclosures at this juncture could endanger their lives, sources informed.

"They are capable of such strikes," sources said.

ATS chief Rakesh Mariau00a0 said that he is trying to use his network to get an official confirmation on Bhatkal's death.

u00a0Apart from intelligence agencies, Maria and his men had also been trying to close in on Bhatkal after the IM embarked on its killing spree across the country in 2003. Bhatkal and his aides have been named in 19 explosions across the country in the past years.

Rajan's henchmen in Tilak Nagar are rife with the theory that some recruits groomed by his slain shooter Tanasha were weaned away by intelligence agencies, and assigned a very classified secret mission.
The other theory is that Bhatkal had become too big for his boots.
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In fact, he had become more dangerous than his mentor in the company of die-hard jihadis, which the D-company boss couldn't allow. Vital details about Bhatkal's whereabouts could have been leaked to the Indian intelligence through indirect sources who then moved in on the kill.

Dawood's treacherous methods have been known to be behind the killing of dozens of his enemies in the past few decades.

"It requires a seasoned gangster to carry out such an operation. Terrorists would rarely suspect a gangster of killing one of them," said a crime branch officer, requesting anonymity.

Ek Cutting!
Supari
The term supari was adopted by the underworld to symbolise a contract killing. Gangsters like Dawood Ibrahim and Chhota Rajan used this term extensively and gradually it crept its way into Bambaiya lingo.