UP to hand over slain D company sharp-shooter's body to Pak

Lucknow, Dec 27 (UNI) A team of the Uttar Pradesh police this morning reached the national capital with the body of Noor Baksh alias Noora, a close aide to underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, to hand it over to officials of Pakistan at the Wagah/Attari international border.

Noora was shot dead by the Special Task Force of the UP police here on October 24 while trying to escape from police custody when he was being taken for a court appearance.

Noora's remains would be handed over to Pakistani officials at either the Wagah or the Attari international border in Amritsar tomorrow.

The October 24 escape bid proved to be unlucky for Noora. Lodged in Lucknow jail for the past two years, Noor Baksh, a sharp shooter of the Dawood Ibrahim gang, was shot down when he tried to escape on way to the local court.

Four accomplices who had come on two motor cycles to rescue him, however, escaped without a trace.

The main case against him in Uttar Pradesh was of fake passports and escaping from police custody.

Originally said to be a resident of Balochistan in Pakistan, Noora or Noor Baksh had reportedly served in the National Guard of UAE and had also been part of the Dubai police.

On October 18, 2005, he escaped from a running train near Itarsi station when he was being taken to Bangalore to be tried in a case of fake passport. Earlier, he had done the vanishing act on May 15, 2001 when he was being taken to Naini jail after a hearing in the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Lucknow.

His arrest by the STF from a Chinese restaurant in the heart of Lucknow on November 24, 2005 was claimed to be a major achievement as he was reported to be an international criminal and close associate of Dawood Ibrahim and Chota Shakeel At that point he was paraded before the media and appeared to be in his early 40s. Despite being in police custody, he refused to say anything except confirm his name as 'Noor Mohammad' and admit that he knew English, Arabic and Hindi. He goes by various pseudonyms, including Yasin Baluchi, Nasir Hussain and Mohammad Baksh.

A mobile phone, a fake passport in the name of Ali Baksh bearing his photograph, Rs 1,180 in cash and five receipts of a PCO for calls reportedly made to the D company were recovered from his possession.

UNI