Overview
- Officers detained the suspect in Surat’s Lalgate after a tip-off while he was allegedly scouting a target location, then transferred him to Bhopal on transit remand.
- A district court in Bhopal granted seven days of police custody for interrogation in robbery, fraud and arson cases spanning multiple jurisdictions.
- Investigators identify him as Abid Ali, also known as Raju Irani, who adopted the fear-inducing alias “Rehman Dakait” reportedly linked to the film Dhurandhar.
- Police describe a network of at least six gangs across roughly 12 to 14 states that used fake checkpoints, law-enforcement impersonation and religious disguises to rob and extort.
- Authorities say he fled a late-December raid in Bhopal’s Irani Dera using stone-pelting as cover and hid at a relative’s Surat home; further arrests are expected as questioning continues.