Police nab history-sheeter from Juhapura

Vejalpur police on Tuesday nabbed Mohammad Hussain alias Mohammad Tempo Sheikh (41), a history-sheeter and resident of Juhapura, who has more than 22 cases to his name. Tempo has been named as the kingpin behind the attacks on a slum settlement of rag pickers, mostly Bengalis, of Fatehwadi near Juhapura.

On March 23, a group of locals led by Tempo set ablaze more than 20 huts belonging to the rag pickers. The attack was a result of mass hysteria and panic among the locals after some locals had spotted a woman allegedly trying to kidnap a boy and vanishing into the hutments. As the rag pickers speak Bengali, they were mistaken by Juhapura residents to be Bangaldeshis, who are behind recent attempts to kidnap kids from Juhapura.   

Taking advantage of the hysteria, Tempo allegedly incited the locals of Juhapura and set the settlement ablaze, forcing the poor rag pickers to flee from the spot. Many of the residents also alleged that Tempo was actually interested in the precious land near Vishalla hotel in Fatehwadi, where the hutments had been erected.

Taking advantage of people’s anger at that time, Tempo had allegedly tried to take his agenda of grabbing the land to its logical conclusion. After being at large for more than 5 months, Vejalpur police have finally nabbed him on Thursday from Juhapura. 

Probe reveals Tempo, once known to be Abdul Wahab's henchman, used to handle land-related issues for Wahab, and was also sent to jail for firing at Nazir Vora a few months back. He was recently caught for smuggling Kashmiri Hashish into the city by DCB and was out on bail.

Interestingly, Tempo, who has played a villainous role in a Gujarati film 'Matha Bhare (Rowdy)', was a villain in real life too, threatening and intimidating people.