Maharashtra cabinet minister Nawab Malik has told the Enforcement Directorate that Salim Patel, the bodyguard and driver of gangster Dawood Ibrahim’s sister Hasina Parkar, was a Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) activist and was working under the leadership of former NCP Mumbai chief Chandrakant Tripathi. The ED is probing the Goawala compound in Kurla money laundering case.
“I have known Salim Patel since 2002. He was an NCP activist and was working under the leadership of Chandrakant Tripathi, the then NCP president of Mumbai,” Nawab Malik, who is also a senior NCP leader, told the ED.
Salim Patel had received Rs 15 lakh from Nawab Malik’s company Solidus Investment Pvt. Ltd in a transaction involving the Goa compound, as per information received, adding that Nawab Malik’s brother Aslam Malik also has an important role in the affairs of the Goa compound case.
On May 21, a special court in Mumbai had said prima facie evidence against Nawab Malik indicates that he was directly and knowingly involved in the money laundering and criminal conspiracy with ‘D-Company‘ members to usurp the Goawala compound in Kurla.
D-gang members late Hasina Parkar, Salim Patel, and Sardar Khan have also been named in the charge sheet. The PMLA court noted that Nawab Malik was in “active connivance” with these D-gang members.
“Accused Nawab Malik in connivance with D-Company members, i.e., Hasina Parkar, Salim Patel and Sardar Khan, hatched a criminal conspiracy for usurping the prime property belonging to Mrs Munira Plumber,” special judge Rahul N Rokade said.
‘D-Company’ is a reference to the Bombay underworld organised crime syndicate founded and controlled by Dawood Ibrahim.
The ED said during the investigation, it was revealed that Hasina Parkar was involved in unauthorised possession of key assets for raising terror funds. One such key asset is Goawala Compound, owned by Munira Plumber and Marium Goawala. A charge sheet was filed in the case last month.
According to the chargesheet, members of the D-Company and Nawab Malik connived and executed several illegal documents to usurp the property. Nawab Malik and Parkar entered into a criminal conspiracy and Nawab Malik agreed to pay Rs 55 lakh to Parkar, Rs 15 lakh to Salim Patel (Parkar’s driver) and Rs 5 lakh to Sardar Khan. It also said Nawab Malik had several meetings with Parkar and Sardar Khan to usurp the property.
Sardar Shahwali Khan is serving life imprisonment in Aurangabad jail in the 1993 blasts case and was released on parole when the meetings took place. The chargesheet also alleged that Nawab Malik illegally occupied Kurla General Store using his clout and muscle power. He also usurped Goawala compound through Solidus Investments.
Nawab Malik was arrested on February 23 by the ED in connection with a money-laundering probe linked to the activities of Dawood Ibrahim and his aides, under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). He is currently in judicial custody.
The ED’s case is based on an FIR filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) against Dawood Ibrahim and others.
The NIA had filed its criminal complaint under sections of the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
The NCP leader had denied all charges levelled against him and moved the Supreme Court against an order of the Bombay HC, which had rejected his interim application seeking immediate release from jail.
The Supreme Court had also refused to grant him any relief, noting the probe into the case is at a nascent stage.
(with inputs from PTI)
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