A Crime Branch officer said Rai is a former Union minister’s nephew.

According to the Crime Branch, Rai had provided logistical support to the shooters involved and had arranged accommodation for them in the city and in New Delhi by tapping various political connections.

On September 12, 1992, 24 men armed with 9 mm pistols and AK-47 assault rifles stormed JJ Hospital and shot dead alleged Arun Gawli gang member Shailesh Haldankar who was admitted there while in police custody. Two police constables guarding Haldankar were killed as well. Other officers and 10 patients sustained injuries. Haldankar was killed to avenge the murder of Dawood’s brother-in-law Ismail Parkar. The shootout was also the first case in which the Mumbai underworld had used AK-47 rifles.

“Virender Rai had provided logistical support for the accused in the JJ shootout case, and had arranged for a place to stay for the shooters both before and after the incident. While in Mumbai, he arranged for their stay in the official BSES (Bombay Suburban Electric Supply) guesthouse. After the incident, he arranged for the shooters to stay at a union minister’s bungalow in New Delhi’s Lutyen’s Zone. From this bungalow, they shifted to a builder’s house and later shifted to Nepal where they all parted ways,” said a top Crime Branch officer, on condition of anonymity.

“Rai, who was a sub-inspector with the UP Police, resigned in 1998 and joined the Bahujan Samaj Party. He was very active in local politics in Gazipur near Varanasi, from where he was picked up by the UP STF some days ago. We will grill him to seek further information about those involved in the shootout, and to establish the linkages in the case more clearly,” said the officer.