NIA officer's murder: Terror busters who faced bullets, suspension

The brutal murder of senior NIA officer Mohammed Tanzeel Ahmed has taken us back to many such occasions when honest police officers have either faced the bullet or the ire of political parties.

Incidentally, the identity of Tanzeel was questioned even after death when Union Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti said that Tanzeel was from Pakistan (as if that would have justified his murder).

This is just a case in point. Here is a list of officers who have been there and done that and have also faced death when required.

Mohammed Tanzeel Ahmed, NIA officer

The code cracker behind the nabbing of Indian Mujahideen (IM)'s then India chief bomb expert Yaseen Bhatkal in June 2013, Tanzeel is known for his feats in the Pathankot attacks too. He has been part of the intelligence group in critical counter-terror operations.

He was on leave after a stint as a liason officer for the 5-member Pakistan Joint Investigation Team (JIT) probing the Pathankot attacks.

He and his colleagues had suspected that he was being targetted for personal and property matters. He was targetted by two armed motocyclists who splayed close to 20 bullets when he was driving back from a wedding with his family in Uttar Pradesh's Bijnor area.

Rajbir Singh, an Encounter specialist with Delhi police

ACP Singh was murdered by a real estate developer on March 24, 2008. Property dealer Vijay Bharadwaj was an old acquaintance and the officer came to meet him for personal reasons.

The latter had asked his Z category security to stay outside the builder's office while he went inside to meet him. Over an altercation, Bhardwaj shot him at point black range from behind. The ACP died on the spot.

He had neutralised many terror cells in Delhi, along with CIA. Arrested several operatives including Mohammed Afzal Guru, who was hanged in 2013 after his conviction in the 2001 Parliament attack case.

Singh was posted with the Delhi Police's Special Cell and the crime branch and had also detected the Red Fort terror attack case of 2000.

Shridhar Vagal: Ex-Mumbai Crime Branch chief

A Maharashtra cadre-IPS officer, Vagal was arrested by the Special Investigation Team probing the multi-crore stamp paper scam. He was the first IPS officer to be arrested in the fake stamp paper scam. He was charged under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act.

Although he was suspended after his arrest in 2003, his suspension was set aside by the Central Administrative Tribunal.

Ravindranath Angre: 'Encounter specialist', Maharashtra Police

He is claimed to have killed 52 alleged gangsters, including underworld 'don' Suresh Machekar, whom he had tracked down for three years.

He was at his career high when suddenly he was arrested for threatening a local property developer Ganesh Wagh. Wagh had backed out of a deal to build a Rs 100 crore swimming pool-cum-club-complex in Thane. He was arrested when a complaint of threat, extortion and robbery were charged against Agre.

He had to spend months in jail and was later released in 2009 and reinstated into the services and transferred to Maoist infected Gadchiroli, which he refused to accept. He was dismissed from service in June 2014.

Daya Nayak, Mumbai Police

Responsible for neutralising 83 alleged gangsters during his stint with the Mumbai crime branch and its Crime Intelligence Unit.

In 2006, he was charged by the anti-corruption bureau on charhes of amassing property. However, he deemed them baseless. He was cleared of charges pertaining to his background. The row started when he built a school in his home state of Karnataka in 2002.

In October 2009, the Maharashtra government denied permission to prosecute Nayak, citing insufficient evidence.