Kolkata: The Anti-Rowdy Squad (ARS) of Kolkata Police’s detective department has arrested history-sheeter, Mohammad Firoz Khan (38) alias Mini Firoz, and his associate Mohammad Sajid (30), after intercepting their car at the Dankuni toll plaza on Sunday. The duo was trying to flee towards Andhra Pradesh and had withdrawn a significant amount of cash.Firoz dominates illegal building and auto operations in southeast Kolkata and faces 37 criminal cases across the Gulshan Colony, Anandapur, Topsia and Tangra areas.The latest police action stems from an FIR registered at Topsia Police Station on June 23, which includes charges under the Arms Act. The arrest follows weeks of reported terror in the Anandapur-Gulshan Colony belt, where Firoz’s gang resurfaced after going underground during the Bengal assembly elections.According to investigators, the gang’s return triggered an immediate surge in territorial violence, with an incident involving a daylight assault on a businessman in Paschim Chaubaga. Police records show that Firoz and at least eight associates arrived on bikes and autos to intercept the victim before launching an attack.The gang assaulted him with iron rods, hockey sticks, and a chopper. When the victim ran into his brother’s shop for cover, the attackers dragged him out, and also beat up the brother when he tried to intervene. Both victims were taken to a local hospital with severe injuries; the businessman required multiple stitches for a deep gash on his head. His brother remains admitted. Following the attack, the victims lodged a complaint of assault and attempted murder at Anandapur Police Station.This is not the first time Firoz has run afoul of the law this year. In March, cops booked him and his gang under sections 308(5), 3(5), and 351(3) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) following complaints of extortion and criminal intimidation from local traders.Investigators said the recent violence stems from Firoz’s attempts to reclaim control over highly lucrative illegal construction syndicates and local auto unions. The sector has remained a flashpoint for violence, driven by a turf war between Firoz’s gang and a rival faction reportedly backed by a local civic councillor.Firoz has a history of fleeing the state. In Sept 2025, he went missing after a violent clash involving firearms and explosives in Gulshan Colony. A special team of Kolkata Police tracked him down and arrested him near the New Delhi railway station later in the year.Senior Kolkata Police officers confirmed that while Firoz and Sajid are in custody, a manhunt is underway to arrest remaining gang members, including key associates Zeeshan and Mustafa. The administration has increased night patrols and surveillance in Gulshan Colony to prevent retaliatory violence and to break the local extortion network.
