Terror funding case: NIA court refuses bail to Salim Fruit

Fruit was arrested in August last year for allegedly having played an active role in extorting huge amounts of money in Shakeel’s name from property dealings and dispute settlements for raising terror funds in furtherance of terrorist activities of the Dawood Ibrahim gang

Mumbai: The special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Monday rejected the bail plea of underworld gangster Chhota Shakeel’s close relative Mohammed Salim Iqbal Qureshi aka Salim Fruit, arrested by the law enforcement agency in the terror funding case.

On May 12, the agency arrested two of the accused, Arif Abubakar Shaikh and Shabbir Abubakar Shaikh, in connection with the case. Fruit was arrested in August on allegations that he took over the gang’s business after the death of Dawood’s sister Haseena Parkar. (HT PHOTO)

Qureshi was arrested in August last year for allegedly having played an active role in extorting huge amounts of money in Shakeel’s name from property dealings and dispute settlements for raising terror funds in furtherance of terrorist activities of the Dawood Ibrahim gang.

The federal agency on February 3, 2022, registered a case against fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim, his brother Anees and their close aide Shakeel Babu Shaikh aka Chhota Shakeel among others for their alleged involvement in arms smuggling, narco-terrorism, money laundering, circulation of fake Indian currency notes and unauthorised possession or involvement in the acquisition of assets for raising terror funds and working in active collaboration with international terrorist organisations like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Al Qaeda.

On May 12, the agency arrested two of the accused, Arif Abubakar Shaikh and Shabbir Abubakar Shaikh, in connection with the case. Fruit was arrested in August on allegations that he took over the gang’s business after the death of Dawood’s sister Haseena Parkar.

Based on the NIA case, the Enforcement Directorate also registered a money laundering case against Dawood and his close associates on February 14, 2022.

On February 23, 2022, the ED arrested Maharashtra minority development minister Nawab Malik for allegedly usurping a ₹300 crore-worth property at Kurla from a local resident with the help of Dawood’s late sister Haseena Parkar.