After Iqbal Kaskar, brother of Dawood Ibrahim was arrested along with two accomplices Mumtaz Shaikh and one Israr Ali Jamil Sayyad, police have said that he could have extorted up to Rs 100 crore from developers and jewellers in Thane in the last three years.
The role of two local NCP leaders is also being probed, who allegedly acted as the middlemen between Kaskar and the builders, as The Times of India reported.
Parambir Singh, the Thane police commissioner also said that Dawood’s role is being probed in the extortion racket and if money was transferred through illegal routes.
Singh stated that the activities of a few local leaders were also under the radar along with Kaskar’s.
Recession and demonetisation hit builders badly, prompting Kaskar to also accept extortion in the form of flats.Police Source
Kaskar had been threatening prominent builders in Thane since 2013 and one extortion case alone amounted to taking Rs 30 lakh from a builder and he took possession of four spacious flats in Rosa Bella complex along Ghodbunder Road, whose cumulative worth was Rs 5 crore.
Three of the flats worth Rs 30 lakh were disposed off a while ago but the fourth was occupied by Kaskar’s aide Shaikh.
Of the four flats, three have been sold.Pradeep Sharma, Senior Inspector
Of the two local leaders, one of the NCP leaders was reportedly a ‘guarantor’ on behalf of the builders, a source claimed. But Nawab Malik, the NCP leader and spokesperson said those allegations were false, baseless and mischievous.
The preliminary investigation threw up names of certain big builders who were part of the criminal syndicate which helped the gang get ransom, using their powerful contacts.
Our probe so far has indicated that the gang would demand cash, flats, and also land from the victims. They had even extorted money from a jeweller and in one case in Navi Mumbai, a builder who was pestered left the city due to fear of the Dawood gang.Parambir Singh
"Till date we have (received) at least ten complaints against them, and they have been arrested in one offence registered with the Kasarwadavli police station by a builder Jain," Singh said.
Kaskar and his aides threatened prominent builders demanding cash or the surrender of flats in their complex. The gangsters with the help of some politicians were also indulging in land grab. We have tried to persuade most victims to report these threats.
Shaikh would collect information with Israr’s help and pass the information to Kaskar, police said. Haseena Parkar’s husband has been detained by the police, on information of dealing drugs.
We are interrogating them on their role.
Thane magistrate RT Ingle remanded all three accused in police custody for eight days on Tuesday.
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