Thane extortion: MCOCA slapped on Iqbal Kaskar, absconder Chhota Shakeel

Thane: The Thane Police on Wednesday slapped MCOCA against five accused, including absconding mafia don Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar`s younger brother Iqbal Kaskar and aide Chhota Shakeel in an extortion case.

"We have slapped the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against all five accused in the first extortion case registered against them. Besides, two other cases have also been lodged against Iqbal Kaskar. In another case, we have also booked his brothers Dawood and Anees," Joint Police Commissioner Madhukar Pandey told media persons here.

The MCOCA provisions have been invoked against all four accused arrested so far in the first case registered by a builder, besides absconding gangster Chhota Shakeel, which will make it very difficult for them to get bail, Pandey added.

Besides Iqbal Kaskar, his accomplices Israr Ali Jamal Sayyed and Mumtaz Sheikh were arrested on September 18 from Nagpada in south Mumbai.

A bookie and illegal `matka` operator Pankaj Gangar, who financed the extortion racket by transferring money through `hawala` channels, was arrested later from Borivali in north Mumbai.

The decision to invoke MCOCA was taken after the involvement of Chhota Shakeel was established during investigations, besides Iqbal Kaskar`s brothers Dawood and Anees, who are in Pakistan, according to his (Iqbal`s) statement recorded by Thane Police.

In the first case, a Thane builder had complained to the Anti-Extortion Cell that he was threatened in the name of Dawood since 2013 and he had given Rs 30 lakhs plus four flats worth around Rs five crore in a prime locality as extortion.

The Mumbai Police is also helping by providing details of all the cases registered against Chhota Shakeel to the Thane Police to help strengthen the cases and bring them to justice.