Gangland killings are not unusual in Thailand, where the trade in drugs, guns and illegal immigrants flourish under the nose of the authorities. So, when seven nattily dressed men got out of a limousine at 9 p.m. on September 15, the night guard at the Sawan Court in Bangkok's fashionable Sukhumvit area did not suspect anything. To his surprise, two of them held guns to his head even as the other five walked briskly up to the second floor of the luxury condominium. They headed straight for Flat C3, where Indian jeweller Michael D'Souza and family lived. All that Sombat Kansompien, the unfortunate night guard, could recollect was hearing several gunshots and the assailants speeding away in the limousine.
When the police eventually arrived on the scene, they found the bulletridden body of D'Souza and his injured wife Sikandi Hama. Their Indian guest for the night was found on the first floor of the building, with bullets in his arms and stomach.
He had broken his legs when he jumped from the second-floor balcony in his attempt to escape the assailants. The police also found 48 spent cartridges. No valuables were missing; the killers did not even touch the 300,000 baht (Thai currency) that was lying around.
The two survivors of what seemed a professional hit-job were rushed to Samitivej Hospital further down Sukhumvit Road. The police had no trouble identifyingthejeweller couple, but their guest turned a problem. He was too badly wounded to be able to speak. However, his passport and subsequent inquiries at Bangkok's immigration office revealed that his name was Vijay Daman, and that he was a 'house guest', staying with the D'Souzas in their Sukhumvit flat. Daman had entered Thailand from either Malaysia or Australia, concluded the police. But the violent and well-organised nature of the crime prompted the authorities to involve the Special Branch.
Apparently, they also sought the help of the Indian embassy in Bangkok, as the shooters seemed to be Indians. Slowly, the truth came tumbling out: Vijay Daman was, in fact, Rajendra Sadashiv Nikhalje, better known as Chhota Rajan, a Mumbai underworld don who was lying low in Bangkok following a crackdown on his activities in Australia. Michael D'Souza turned out to be Rajan's ace marksman and confidant Rohit Verma. Fearing another attempt on Rajan's life the police tightened security around the Samitivej Hospital and asked the authorities not to entertain any queries on the condition of the injured. The police themselves were reluctant to talk about the incident. This resulted in an informationstarved media giving out confusing news about the attack and the aftermath.
First it was reported that Rajan was killed along with Verma. Then came the news that Rajan was shifted to his former base, Kuala Lumpur, for safety reasons. All of which were found to be false. The police now claim that Rajan and Verma's wife are recovering in the Samitivej Hospital and that Verma was the only person killed in the shootout. It was later reported that Bharat alias Raju Nepali, another Rajan man, was in the sitting room when the shooting took place. He reportedly escaped.
In their attempt to track down the culprits, the police released a 'wanted' poster, with sketches of four of the seven gunmen. Help was also sought from the Mumbai Police to solve what appeared to be a mystery killing. The two 9mm guns, believed to have been used in the shootout and which were found near the General Post Office in Bangkok, were sent to the Scientific Crime Detection Division for examination. Police said the killers had used three 9 mm pistols in the shootout, one of which is yet to be recovered.
A more down-to-earth investigation would perhaps have instantly unearthed the motive for the killing. The cheap restaurants and guest houses around Bangkok's General Post Office have for years been popular hang-outs of people from the subcontinent, mainly Muslims. Rajan's rival Davvood Ibrahim has his main power base in Bangkok in the area. Dawood's other base in Bangkok is the Nana area near the Pakistani Embassy, where Sukhumvit Road begins.
Dawood's men have for years had a presence in Bangkok, where they are involved in drug smuggling and the procurement of arms from the black market in Thailand and the Thai-Cambodian border. The possibility of Pakistani involvement for, or protection of, these activities cannot be ruled out, given the close relationship between Dawood's gang and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
The Thai Police achieved a breakthrough when they arrested three Pakistanis and a Thai national in connection with the shootout. Mohammad Yousuf, 48, was arrested a day after the killing from Sukhumvit Soi 5. (Soi is a lane off the main road. The flat where the shooting took place was on Sukhumvit Soi 26.) Soi 5 is a well-known hangout for people from the Middle East and is full of shops and restaurants owned by Muslims from the Middle East and Africa.
The other two Pakistani nationals, Muhammad Salim, 33, and Slier Khan, 36, were picked up from the Robinson Department Store in downtown Bangkok on September 19). The naturalised Thai of Pakistan origin, Chavalit alias Rajif Arunkiat, 51, was arrested from his apartment in northern Bangkok soon after. Chavalit, a Thai Muslim who hails from Narathiwat in the Muslim-dominated south, is the only Thai citizen in the 11- member team (four Pakistanis and six Indians apart from the Thai) Chhota Shakeel sent to kill Rajan.
Four people who formed part of the actual assault team are still at large. They have been identified as Farid Khan, Muhammad Salim, Muhammad Salem, and Majid Iyaz. While three of them have reportedly fled the country, one of them is still believed to be in Thailand. Yousuf was supposed to leave on September 22 but had the misfortune of losing his passport in a taxi. Before he could get a fake passport he was caught. All the foreigners entered Thailand on a Thai International flight on September 14, but the police are clueless as to where they boarded the flight.
Those arrested confessed to the police that Dawood's most trusted lieutenant, Karachi-based Chhota Shakeel, offered to pay them 40 million baht ($1 million) to kill Rajan. The office of Major-General Krisda Phankongchuen, Commander of Metropolitan Police Division 5, confirmed to THE WEEK that Chhota Shakeel had sent the gunmen to kill Rajan. "Shakeel wanted to take revenge on Rajan because he killed Shakeel's 17 associates," said the commander's office. "Rajan, who might be involved in the narcotic business, was seriously wounded along with Rohit Verma's wife."
Chavalit arranged shelter, weapons and food for the killers in Thailand. The police claim that they made the arrested men telephone their Indian contacts and ask the rest of the killers to surrender. The Thai police are confident that they have nabbed "the right guys", but that is far from certain. The main gunmen seem to have got away; those arrested may be only minor aides.
Rajan apparently came to Bangkok to finalise a dubious business deal involving the sale of a ship. Rajan was operating from a ship in the international waters off the Malaysian coast factory in Cambodia. Police said Verma was extremely rich and led a flashy lifestyle. The factory and the company, they said, might have been covers for hanging around in Bangkok, far away from Mumbai. But there is nothing so far to indicate that he was involved in illegal activities in Thailand and Cambodia.
Bangkok is an ideal hide-out for criminals and political extremists as long as they do not settle their internal disputes in Thailand. The LTTE, Sikh militants, Thuingaleng Muivah's National Socialist Council of Nagaland and the Russian Mafia as well as various European and North American terrorist organisations are known to have been using Thailand for years as a base for rest and recreation.
Dawood's hitmen broke the golden rule of staying quiet in Thailand, which may be the reason why the Thai Police have given top priority to this case. Rajan and Verma may have also overstepped the boundaries of what is permissible in Thailand, and, therefore, attracted the attention of the Thai police as well as his own business rivals. Rajan is said to have been involved in the lucrative trade in illegal immigrants from Sydney, where he lived. Sydney was safer than any other place for him since the D Company's presence is limited there.
Verma's "jewellery business", said the police, may have to do with the diamond trade. Since civil wars broke out in Namibia, the Congo and Sierra Leone, sending diamonds to cutting centres in Europe or South Africa has become both dangerous and expensive. Bangkok, with its lax regulations, has emerged as a convenient alternative, and the upper end of Sukhumvit, where the Dawood gang often hangs out, is a centre of such activities. Indian intelligence agencies are reportedly looking into the possibility of having Rajan extradited to India as soon as he recovers. However, Indian embassy sources revealed that the government is yet to put in an extradition request. Thailand and India do not have an extradition treaty, which means Rajan may be as lucky as Muivah. After all, he is less guilty than Muivah as he has not committed any crimes in Thailand. Being a Mumbai don, and being the target of an assassination attempt, are not crimes in Thailand.