Two of five absconding accused have Pakistan addresses: SIT

Vadodara: Two accused in the Godhra Sabarmati Express train carnage have something in common with the likes of dreaded gangsters Sharif Khan and Rasul Party from the state and even underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. Like Khan and Party, the duo Salim Haji Ibrahim Badam alias Salim Panwala and Shaukat Ahmed Charkha alias Shaukat Lalu are believed to be in Pakistan and a Red Corner Notice (RCN) has been issued against them.
After a series of arrests by the Panchmahal police, state anti-terror squad and the Ahmedabad crime branch, Badam and Charkha are amongst the five accused whose complete identities are known, but are yet to be nabbed. It has come to light in 2005 that the two absconding accused were in Pakistan. Inerpol RCNs were issued against them in 2006.
Sources said that the duo is amongst the core group accused of hatching the Sabarmati Express carnage near Godhra railway station. Interestingly, the CBI website that has a list of accused against whom RCNs have been issued, has no photographs of these two accused. Even Sharif and Rasul, who were members of the Latif gang in Ahmedabad, have their photographs on the website.
It was after working meticulously and using an informer that the special investigation team (SIT) probing the carnage case had ascertained the whereabouts of Badam and Charkha. Even their exact addresses in Karachi, Pakistan, were obtained. Karachi has a Godhra Colony where the duo has settled. As the area has a large number of immigrants from Godhra, it was named as Godhra Colony.
Sources in the SIT said that apart from Badam and Charkha the other three absconding accused whose identities are known include Yakub Abdulgani Pataliya, Rafiq Hussain Bhatuq and Abdul Majid Mitha. Their whereabouts are not known.
The list of accused who are yet to be arrested also has four names whose identities could not be ascertained. These include Razzak Chikni, Imran Kalandar, Mushtaq and Sikandar. Their full names and addresses could never be established during investigations.