Iqbal Kaskar, the brother of fugitive don Dawood Ibrahim, was arrested late on Monday night in connection with an investigation into an extortion case. According to police, Kaskar, who was taken into custody from his house in Nagpada area of Mumbai, was watching actor Amitabh Bachchan's game show Kaun Banega Crorepati and eating biryani when police arrived at his place.
Addressing the media here, Thane Police Commissioner Parambir Singh informed that Kaskar was nabbed by a crack team of the Thane Anti-Extortion Cell (AEC) and later placed under arrest. He was today produced before a local court which sent him and two close aides to eight days police custody.
Parambir said that Kaskar had demanded four flats and Rs 30 lakh as ransom from a builder. According to him, the names of some other builders and politicians have also emerged during the investigation.
To a question will Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) be slapped on Kashkar or not, Parambir told reporters that police are now examining whether the dreaded law can be applied to Kaskar and his brother Dawood, believed to be in Pakistan.
He said that Iqbal Kaskar has been running the extortion racket for quite some time and on Monday night the AEC finally arrested him. The police chief said he has threatened and made extortion calls to several builders in Thane, Mumbai and Navi Mumbai.
Iqbal, who was deported from the United Arab Emirates in 2003, is said to be operating his brother's real estate business in the city. He was wanted in a murder case and the Sara Sahara illegal construction case. However, he was acquitted in both the cases in 2007.
The anti-extortion cell's senior police inspector Pradeep Sharma, who led the team that detained Kaskar, was suspended in Lakhan Bhaiya encounter case and was recently reinstated in the police force.
