Suresh Bijlani's properties may be attached

MUMBAI: In a bid to build pressure on builder Suresh Bijlani to surrender in the S K Lahoria murder case, the crime branch of the city police has started the process leading to the attachment of his properties.
Sources said the police moved an application before the Thane court to declare Bijlani an absconder in the case of February 16 builder murder case.
"Our team has started identifying Bijlani's properties and once he is declared an absconder by the court, we will start attaching the properties," joint commissioner of police (crime) Himanshu Roy said on Wednesday.
Sources said Bijlani, who is worth more than Rs 100 crore, might be in Delhi or even outside the country. The police have issued a lookout notice at all airports in the country for him.
Lahoria was shot outside his office in Sector 28 in Vashi, Navi Mumbai. Members of the public caught one of the attackers, identified as Venkatesh Shettiar, as he tried to run away. Later, Shettiar's accomplice Wajid Qureshi was also arrested.
After Shettiar told the police they had killed Lahoria at the behest of former encounter specialist Emmanual Amolik, the police officer was arrested and sent to judicial custody. Later another person, Sumit Bacchewar, was arrested, but Bijlani and some other accused went into hiding.
On Wednesday, the police arrested two more persons, civil contractor Altaf Aftab Khan from Mumbra and estate agent Mohammed Nasir Ansari alias Bhaijan from Ambarnath.
Investigators said they had found that around 6.30 am on February 16, Amolik held a meeting outside Vashi railway station, where most of the accused in the case were present.
"According to their plan, Shettiar and Qureshi were to shoot Lahoria, but Amolik also sent two more teams, one of which was led by Altaf Khan and Ansari, in two separate cars as a back-up," additional commissioner of police Niket Kaushik said. "Amolik did this to keep a check on the shooters and, in case they developed cold feet, the back-up team was to carry out the operation."
He said that after the shooting, Qureshi fled in Altaf's waiting car. The police have seized Altaf's car. Police are trying to find out whoelse where there in the two backup cars and whether they were armed with weapons.