AEC to investigate Chhota Shakeel aide Salim ‘Fruit’

Qureshi, who is accused of using underworld contacts to acquire 50% share in a south Mumbai property, was booked by the Dadar police for submitting documents that were allegedly forged

Mumbai: The Anti-Extortion Cell (AEC) of the crime branch will now probe the cheating and forgery case against gangster Chhota Shakeel’s brother-in-law Salim Qureshi (alias Salim Fruit) and eight others.

“It appears that Salim Fruit has used his influence in the underworld to purchase the property,” said a senior Crime Branch official (HT PHOTO)

Qureshi, who is accused of using underworld contacts to acquire 50% share in a south Mumbai property, was booked by the Dadar police for submitting documents that were allegedly forged, in order to avoid paying full stamp duty thus causing a loss to the state exchequer.

“It appears that Salim Fruit has used his influence in the underworld to purchase the property,” said a senior Crime Branch official.

The case was registered on August 8 by Mohammad Rafique Ibrahim Tambe, who together with his cousins, own a building on Bhandari Street in Masjid Bunder. According to the police, Tambe filed a complaint after he learnt that some tenants had received legal notices last June stating that 50% of the building had been purchased by Salim Qureshi and they were required to pay rent to him.

Shocked to learn that his nephews had sold a substantial share in the property, Tambe decided to visit the registration office at Dadar where the conveyance deed was registered. There, Tambe found documents stating that the share in the property was sold for ₹21 lakh. However, the documents submitted during registration were forged, and included fake tenant receipts, wrong list of tenants’ names, duplicate gumasta license (issued by the civic body under shop and establishment act) and incorrect electricity supply papers, the complaint stated.

Based on Tambe’s complaint, a case was registered against nine people for cheating, forgery, forgery of valuable security, forgery for the purpose of cheating, using forged documents, criminal conspiracy and common intention.

Qureshi applied for anticipatory bail in the cheating and forgery case on August 25. The sessions court will hear his plea on September 29.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) took custody of Qureshi on August 4 on charges of terror funding. He is also booked for extorting money from city-based builders in the name of Chhota Shakeel, a member of Dawood Ibrahim’s gang, through property dealing and dispute settlement. The federal agency had registered a case against Dawood Ibrahim, his brother Anees and 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 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 February 3.