Iqbal Kaskar was not present at firing spot: Mumbai Police

MUMBAI: In a new twist, the Mumbai Police today claimed that fugitive don Dawood Ibrahim's brother Iqbal Kaskar was not present when gunmen opened fire in a south Mumbai area killing his bodyguard.

"Kaskar was not there at the place of firing last night. But this does not mean that he was not targeted," said Joint Police Commissioner (Law and Order) Rajnish Seth.

A spokesman of the Mumbai Police Rajkumar Vadkar also said that on the basis of the information available with them, Kaskar was not at the spot during the firing incident near J J Hospital.

Meanwhile, a senior police official said although underworld don Chota Rajan's name has surfaced in the preliminary investigations in the firing case in which four gunmen were involved, it was premature to state anything now.

"It is yet to be verified. Just because Dawood and Rajan are rivals, we cannot hold the latter responsible for the incident," he said.

Meanwhile, the two arrested accused in the case were identified as Syyed Ali (29), a resident of Mumbra and Indra Khatri (27), possibly from Nepal, police said.

Kaskar's bodyguard, Arif Syed Abu Bukha, who succumbed to his wounds before being admitted to a city hospital, had suffered six bullet injuries, they said.

Kaksar is an accused in the Sara Sahara Mall land grabbing case.