Mumbai, Oct 23 — In a matter related to fugitive don Dawood Ibrahim's brother, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) lodged an FIR seeking action against miscreants who trespassed a Thane flat that was attached earlier in connection with an extortion case registered against Iqbal Ibrahim Kaskar, an officials said on Friday.
The flat was attached by the ED in 2022 during money laundering investigation in a case relating to extortion by accused Iqbal Kaskar, younger brother of underworld don Dawood, who is suspected to be in Pakistan, the official said in a statement.
The FIR was filed as a deterrent action against miscreants for trespassing the "confirmed attached properties" in the possession of the ED's Mumbai Zonal Office-I, it said.
"The FIR was lodged on October 15 after restoring the possession of a flat in Thane (West) under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002," the ED said.
"In respect of the alleged unauthorised entry and interference with the attached property, an FIR dated October 15 has been registered at Kasarvadavali Police Station in Thane under Sections 329(4) and 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, so that the matter is investigated and trespassers are punished," the ED added.
The property was provisionally attached vide provisional attachment order dated April 8, 2022, during money laundering investigation in the extortion case against Iqbal Kaskar and others, it said.
The provisional attachment was subsequently confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority under Section 8(3) of the PMLA vide order dated September 29, 2022, and possession of the flat was also taken by the ED on December 17, 2024, under Section 8(4) of the PMLA, the statement said.
The ED investigation was initiated on the basis of FIR registered at Kasarvadavali Police Station in Thane, concerning allegations of extortion against, inter alia, Iqbal Kaskar, Mumtaz Azaz Sheikh alias Raju, Israr Ali Jamil Saiyad and others.
During investigation, it was revealed that pursuant to threats and extortion, flats were demanded to be registered in favour of or at the instance of the accused persons, the ED said.
In this context, Flat No. 405 was registered in the name of Mumtaz Azaz Sheikh on May 29, the ED said.
It came to notice that some people had entered the property, broken the lock and removed the ED's possession notice, the statement said.
The ED conducted inspections and took necessary steps to safeguard the attached property.
The matter was also placed before the Special PMLA Court, which also directed the ED to restore the possession with police assistance, if required.
In compliance and also to safeguard the property, the lock of said flat was changed in presence of police personnel and witnesses and the possession of the said flat was restored, the ED said.
A fresh notice was also affixed on the premises clearly mentioning that any aggrieved person may either approach the office of the ED or the court where the trial of the case is being conducted, it added.