Mumbai: The Thane Police on Wednesday invoked the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim’s brother Iqbal Kaskar, gangster Chhota Shakeel and three others in connection with the first extortion case registered after a Thane-based builder complained.
In the FIR registered at Kasarwadavli police station, the builder had alleged that Mr. Kaskar and his associates had extorted ₹30 lakh and four flats from him in Dawood’s name. Under MCOCA, an accused cannot obtain bail easily. The police arrested Mr. Kaskar and his associates, Israr Ali Jamal Ali Sayyed and Mumtaz Sheikh on September 18 from his sister Haseena Parkar’s home in Gorden Hall Apartments, Nagpada.
During interrogation, the accused told the police that Shakeel, a close Dawood aide, was also allegedly involved in the extortion racket. Shakeel had allegedly threatened some builders and businessmen in Dawood’s name and tried to extort money from them, a police officer said. The Anti-Extortion Cell (AEC) arrested Borivali-based ‘matka king’ and businessman Pankaj Gangar, who allegedly used to send ₹10 lakh to ₹15 lakh every month to Shakeel through hawala routes.
Following Mr. Kaskar’s arrest, the Thane Police has been examining ways to apply MCOCA in this case. As Shakeel’s role was established, it became easy to invoke the law, a Thane Police officer said. In this regard, the Thane Police had requested their counterparts in Mumbai to provide details of the cases filed in the last 10 years against Shakeel.
Two more extortion cases were registered in Thane in which Kaskar, Shakeel, Dawood and his other brother Anees have been named as accused.
