Ejaz Lakdawala booked in another case of extortion
MUMBAI: The anti-extortion cell registered another extortion case against gangster Ejaz Lakdawala on Monday for allegedly demanding ₹1 crore from a private developer.
The police said the builder has given a written application last year, which was verified after Lakdawala was arrested from Patna on January 8. The police recorded the builder’s statement and registered a first information report (FIR) against Lakdawala at Byculla station. Lakdawala, who is under police custody, will be produced in court on Tuesday.
“We will seek the extension of his police custody to probe the 25 cases which are registered against him in Mumbai and two other cases outside the city. Apart from the 27 FIRS, there are also 80 written applications filed by Mumbai-based businessmen against Lakdawala alleging that he threatened them and asked them to pay him money. We are verifying all the applications and probing the evidence in the cases and inquiring if the businessmen are still willing to pursue the case,” an AEC officer said.
Lakdawala, a former aide of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, was operating from Nepal for the past seven-eight years. His wife and eight-year-old son are believed to be in Nepal. He had been on India’s most wanted list since 1998 and was wanted in 27 cases of murder and attempted murder, as well as 80 cases of extortion in Mumbai alone.
Earlier on December 28, Lakdawala’s daughter Sonia was arrested from Mumbai airport in connection with a fake passport case. Though she was granted bail in the fake passport case, the court denied her bail plea in an extortion case. According to the police, Ladkawala and Sonia had threatened a Bandra-based builder. The duo used at least seven mobile phones to interact, so that the Indian agencies could not trace them. Later, Lakdawala was arrested in the case.