Two aides of fugitive don Dawood Ibrahim's brother Iqbal Kaskar were on Tuesday arrested in connection with an extortion case, a senior police official said.
Kaskar and his associates were allegedly threatening a prominent builder in Thane in Dawood’s name since 2013 and extorted ₹30 lakh and four flats from him in Dawood's name, police said.
Mumtaz Sheikh and Israr Ali Jamil Sayyad, who were earlier detained, were formally placed under arrest, Thane’s Commissioner of Police Param Bir Singh said.
Iqbal Parkar, a close relative of Dawood’s sister Haseena Parkar, and drug dealer Mohammad Yasin Khwaja Hussain were also detained in connection with the case, the officer said.
Kaskar was on Monday night taken into custody from Haseena’s house in Nagpada area of Central Mumbai by a team led by encounter specialist and anti-extortion cell’s senior police Inspector Pradeep Sharma.
He was questioned till late Monday night by the crime branch officials and then formally arrested, Mr. Singh said.
The police are also investigating if Dawood Ibrahim had any role in the matter and if it is so, he will also be made an accused in the case, the Commissioner said at a press conference.
Kaskar had sent an aide to the builder’s office and at the construction site to extort money, Mr. Singh said.
The builder later gave four flats worth ₹5 crore and ₹30 lakh in cash to Kaskar. In spite of it, he was being threatened by the accused, the police said.
Out of the four flats, three were sold and one was registered in the name of Sayyad, who was staying in it for the last few years, the senior police officer said.
A few days ago, an extortion case was registered on the basis of the complaint by the builder at Thane’s Kasarwadavali police station under IPC section 384 (extortion), 386 (extortion by putting a person in fear of death or grievous hurt) and 387 (putting person in fear of death or of grievous hurt, in order to commit extortion).
Later, the case was handed over to the Thane Police’s anti-extortion cell.
During investigation, the police initially nabbed Sheikh and Sayyad from Thane. Later, Kaskar’s name also cropped up in the case, police said.
Names of some builders and politicians, including corporators, have also allegedly come up during the investigation, Mr. Singh said.
“We are investigating whether they were helping Kaskar in the extortion racket. If needed, we will also take the help of the Enforcement Directorate and verify whether the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act [MCOCA] can be applied in this case,” the Commissioner said.
Kaskar, who was deported from the United Arab Emirates in 2003, is said to be operating Dawood’s real estate business in the city, according to the police.
He was wanted in a murder case and the Sara Sahara illegal construction case.
He was, however, acquitted in both the cases in 2007, the police said.
