Crime branch books Ejaz Lakdawala, aide under MCOCA

The anti-extortion cell (AEC) of the crime branch on Wednesday booked gangster Ejaz Lakdawala and his associate, Salim Penwala alias Salim Maharaj alias Dadhi —

The anti-extortion cell (AEC) of the crime branch on Wednesday booked gangster Ejaz Lakdawala and his associate, Salim Penwala alias Salim Maharaj alias Dadhi — both arrested for extorting ₹2 crore from a Byculla-based builder — under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).

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Lakdawala and Penwala, arrested by the crime branch on January 27, were produced before the special MCOCA court on Wednesday, and remanded in police custody till February 15.

While seeking to extend the custody of the accused, the police said Penwala had provided information, contact number and addresses of the residence and office of the builder to Lakdawala and updated him about the victim’s movement through an app. Public prosecutor Jaysingh Desai said they required the accused’s custody to get details about the app which Lakdawala and Penwala were using. He also said AEC needs to trace how the extortion money was sent to Lakdawala, how it was used, and if the ill-gotten money was invested in property.

Lakdawala’s lawyer, Devanand Manerkar, opposed the custody, stating the accused have been in police custody from January 8 in the same case and the same agency has been investigating the case. Manerkar submitted that the crime branch has again cited the same reason which they had earlier stated to get one-week custody of the accused.

Police need to gather technical evidence like call data records and chats that the accused have used to communicate on the app and trace the service provider, said an officer. Lakdawala has been booked in 31 cases of extortion. He was arrested from Patna, Bihar, on January 8.