Police fire shots in self-defense in Vadodara; 3 held, notorious bootlegger Zubair on run

Vadodara: A State Monitoring Cell (SMC) team of Gujarat police was attacked by bootleggers while carrying out a raid in the Darjipura area, leading the Police Inspector (PI) to fire two rounds in self-defense. Three suspects have been arrested, and the Harni Police are carrying out further investigation.

The SMC team had received a tip-off that a bootlegger named Zubair Shafiq Meman was filling small vehicles with alcohol from containers at an open parking lot near V. Trans Company’s warehouse, opposite Darjipura Bridge on the Vadodara-Mumbai National Highway. Acting on this tip, the SMC team raided the location between 4:00 and 5:00 am. During the raid, the bootleggers started throwing stones at the team, prompting PI R.G. Khatte to fire two rounds in self-defense.

Following the firing, Zubair and others fled the scene. The SMC has arrested three bootleggers and seized a Fortuner car, a container, and alcohol worth approximately Rs 22 lakh, totaling Rs 60 lakh in goods. Zubair and five others have been declared wanted. All suspects and seized goods have been handed over to the Harni Police Station. Further investigation is ongoing.

The arrested suspects have been identified as Firoz Yakub Diwan (resident of Ajwa Road, Vadodara), Altaf Hussain Yakub Hussain Diwan (resident of Yakutpura, Vadodara), and Ratan Singh Jabbarsingh Sodha (resident of Ekta Nagar, Ajwa, Vadodara). Meanwhile, the absconding individuals include Zubair Shafiq Meman (main accused, resident of Vadi, Vadodara City), Zuber’s assistant, the Innova Crysta driver, and others. DeshGujarat