DAWOOD MAY STILL BE IN PAK, WIFE’S RELATIVE TELLS COURT

MUMBAI: Dawood Ibrahim, India’s most wanted criminal who is accused of masterminding the 1993 serial blasts in Mumbai, may still be living in Karachi, Pakistan, a close relative of his wife told a special court on Wednesday.

The court, formed under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), recorded the testimony of 71-year-old Salim Ibrahim Shaikh — who claimed to be the paternal uncle of Ibrahim’s wife, Mehzabeen — in connection with a 2004 case against two gutkha barons for having links with the underworld.

It was alleged that the two gutkha barons took Ibrahim’s help to settle a business dispute in Mumbai and in return, helped Ibrahim’s brother, Anees, establish a gutkha company in Pakistan.

Shaikh, one of the prosecution witnesses in the case, said he had visited Ibrahim’s family in Karachi in August 2004 to meet an ailing relative. He claimed Jamiruddin Ansari, an accused in the gutkha case, had asked him to deliver a parcel to Anees while he was in Pakistan.

Shaikh said he was received by Mehzabeen at the Karachi airport and later went to Ibrahim’s bungalow in the affluent Clifton area in the city. Shaikh said he handed over Ansari’s parcel to Ibrahim, saying they were meant for Anees.

According to the prosecution, the parcel contained gutkha packets and not “household items” as Shaikh was made to believe. Shaikh claimed Ibrahim called Anees over the phone and abused him for sending the items through him.

Shaikh also told the court that Mehzeeban called him every fortnight since early 2018 to check on his health but had stopped communicating for the past six to eight months. MUMBAI: The state cabinet on Wednesday cleared the proposal to extend the boundaries of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) to include Palghar taluka, Khalapur, Vasai, and Pen.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), which had mooted the proposal to extend its jurisdiction, plans to build growth centres in Boisar, as the proposed Mumbai-ahmedabad bullet train will pass through the region. The extension of boundaries will boost development in the area, a senior urban development department official said. “MMRDA had come up with the proposal as it planned various projects such as a multi-modal corridor, growth centre, among others, in the region. Now, Palghar taluka, the remaining region of Vasai taluka, Pen and Khalapur will come under MMRDA’S jurisdiction,” said Nitin Kareer, principal secretary, urban development department.

So far, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) was spread over 4,355 sqm, including areas in Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Kalyan-dombivli, Mira-bhayander, Vasai-virar, Matheran, Karjat, Uran and Alibaug, with Virar as its northernmost limit. The

bullet train has halts at Thane, Virar and Boisar. “Thane and Virar are developed, and there is no chunk of land available for commercial development. Boisar has potential, as it could reduce the travel time to Bandra-kurla

Complex, where the bullet train terminus is planned,” an officer said.

Officials said with Virar-alibaug Multimodal Corridor coming up, the connectivity between the regions will improve.

SALIM IBRAHIM SHAIKH, DAWOOD’S WIFE’S UNCLE, CLAIMED HE VISITED THE GANGSTER IN KARACHI IN 2004 AND DELIVERED A PARCEL TO HIM PERSONALLY