02 October,2015 11:00 AM IST | | Sagar Rajput
Following the arrest of crime boss Karima Mujeeb Shah, the police are now investigating whether local cops turned a blind eye to her illegal operations in return for commissions, said sources
Following the arrest of the mafia queen of Ghatkopar, Karima Mujeeb Shah aka Aapa, there has been a considerable fall in the crime rate in the Central and Eastern suburbs, but the police now have another problem on their hands.
According to sources, Karima Mujeeb Shah told investigators that she would pay off cops from the Pant Nagar police station so they wouldn't take action against her mob
Sources in the police said that investigations into the 45-year-old's crime network had revealed that the local police may have been working hand in glove with her, and would get commissions for turning a blind eye to the illegal operations.
mid-day had highlighted how Karima went from an illegal developer to a mafia queen within six years, building a crime mob of over 50 henchmen without the police even realising it. While her gang would carry out heists across the Central and Eastern suburbs, Karima herself came to be feared and respected as the local godmother (Read Story: Here's how this woman turned into a mafia queen in 6 yrs).
It was only in the last week of August that she was caught, and she is now in the custody of the Nehru Nagar police station. Sources said that the police is now also investigating the involvement of officers from the Pant Nagar police station for their alleged involvement in her activities. The Pant Nagar police have jurisdiction in Kamraj Nagar, which is where Karima's operations were based.
"Since the time she was arrested, Karima was naming cops from Pant Nagar police station whom she had paid off. In fact, even though she had been externed from the city last year, she was seen roaming freely in Kamraj Nagar, running her gang, but the local police never stopped her.
According to the externment rules, she should not have been present in Mumbai or the neighbouring cities of Thane, Navi Mumbai and Nashik," said a police officer requesting anonymity. "If any kind of illegal huts are being built, a certain amount of money is taken by the policemen of the nearest beat chowkie, and the same thing had happened in this case.
But knowing the fact that she is responsible for most of the crimes taking place in Central and Eastern suburbs, the cops should have taken action against her," said an officer from the Nehru Nagar police station.
If sources are to be believed, higher officials in the department have even asked for the Call Data Records (CDR) of several policemen attached with the Pant Nagar police station, in order to check whether they have any links with the Godmother of Ghatkopar.. However, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone VII) Vinay Kumar Rathod refused to confirm this, when approached by mid-day.
