2 politicians to be quizzed in Iqbal Kaskar case

Mumbai: The Thane police will summon two city-based politicians for questioning in the extortion case involving Iqbal Kaskar, brother of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim.

Sources in the police said that the summons would be issued by Monday since their names cropped up in the statements given by several independent witnesses. The same has also been put in the chargesheet filed in Thane MCOCA court on Tuesday.

The Thane police’s crime branch filed chargesheet in the first case, involving property developers from whom Kaskar and his aides extorted four flats and `30 lakh in cash.

The officials said that the political angle in the case will now be probed as the 1,647-page chargesheet has been submitted. “Ten independent witnesses have named two corporators who were in contact with Kaskar and part of what unfolded,” sources said.

“We have readied the summons which will be sent to the two politicians, mostly by Monday,” said an officer of Thane crime branch’s anti-extortion cell (AEC).

During the investigation in the case, the police learnt that one of the two politicians under the scanner, also named in property developer Suraj Parmar suicide case, frequently visited Kaskar’s Nagpada residence. He had also attended Kaskar’s ‘Biryani Dawaat’ during Eid.

The Thane crime branch also filed chargesheet in the second extortion case, registered by a jeweller who alleged that Kaskar and his cronies threatened and extorted gold worth `15 lakh from him in 2015-2016 under the pretext of buying a piece of land parcel that he wanted to sell.

The D-gang members targeted him after he dragged his feet from the agreed land deal after learning that Kaskar was Dawood’s brother.

“We have recovered 310 gram gold in the case and have witness statements including the bar girl from Uma Palace who was gifted a gold necklace by one of the accused. The accused extorted from the jeweller on three different occasions,” the officer said.

Dawood Ibrahim, his close aide Chhota Shakeel, the two Bihar-based shooters Shammi and Guddu who were hired to threaten and vacate properties, are all named wanted in the case.