An active member of Dawood Ibrahim [Images] and Chhota Shakeel gang, identified as Noor Baksh alias Noora, was arrested by the Special Task Force of Uttar Pradesh from Hazratganj police station area in Lucknow Thursday.

• Abu Salem Extradited 

Noora, an Afghan national, who was also involved in the attack on Chhota Rajan in Thailand some years ago, was nabbed while he was approaching the passport office in Lucknow, Superintendent of Police Special Task Force Vijay Bhushan told reporters.

A native of Baluchistan in Pakistan, Noora had fled from police custody from a moving train while being taken back to Bangalore after an appearance in a court in Lucknow in October, Bhushan said.

A passport form carrying his photograph under the name of Ali Baksh and not Noor Baksh, Rs 1,180 in cash, five PCO receipts of calls made to the D-company and a mobile phone were recovered from his possession, the SP said.

Noora was earlier arrested in 2000 while trying to acquire a fake passport in Lucknow, but had fled from police custody in 2001 while being taken back to Naini jail in Allahabad and was re-arrested a couple of days later by a joint team of STF and special cell of Delhi police, Bhushan said.

He was transferred to Bangalore jail in January 2005 in connection with a case, the SP said adding, the criminal was brought to Lucknow in October for hearing of an appeal filed by him in the high court during which he fled from a moving train near Itarsi.

During interrogation, Noora confessed that he had been in touch with the underworld after fleeing from custody and come to Lucknow to acquire a passport.

"Bhai (Dawood) had instructed that I should come to Lucknow as it would not be easy to get a passport from Mumbai due to strictness following the arrest of Abu Salem [Images] and had also said a person in the cash division of the passport office would help me in the task," Noora told the STF.