Another accused discharged in Chhota Shakeel-linked extortion case

Court says prosecution failed to provide sufficient evidence; ‘Salim Fruit’ is the sole accused left to face trial

MUMBAI: A special MCOCA (Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act) court has discharged another accused, Amjad Rais Redkar, from a 2022 extortion case allegedly linked to the Chhota Shakeel gang. The court held that the prosecution had failed to place sufficient material on record to justify proceeding against Redkar. Now, Mohammed Salim Iqbal Qureshi aka ‘Salim Fruit’, is the only person who faces trial.

Another accused discharged in Chhota Shakeel-linked extortion case

Special Judge NR Pradhan, while allowing Redkar’s discharge application, said the material relied upon by the prosecution — including call detail records (CDR), witness statements and Redkar’s presence at a birthday party — fell short of establishing either a criminal conspiracy or his membership of an organised crime syndicate.

The case arises from a complaint alleging that the informant, a businessman dealing in catering and gold, was targeted for extortion following a birthday party hosted by co-accused Riyaz Ahmed Bhati in a Mumbai hotel in February 2021, where more than 200 persons were allegedly present. The prosecution claimed that a conspiracy to extort money was hatched at the event and that the accused were acting as part of a syndicate led by Chhota Shakeel.

Rejecting this theory as far as Redkar was concerned, the court held that “mere attendance at the birthday party” could not constitute incriminating material, particularly when the prosecution itself claimed that over 200 people were present.

The court noted that the prosecution sought to establish the alleged conspiracy through the statements of witnesses, who claimed to have overheard conversations at the party. The court found that these statements “lack the element of certainty as to the person who was alleged to be joint in the conspiracy” and were not sturdy enough to sustain the accusation.

Significantly, the court recorded that there were no allegations whatsoever against Redkar in the FIR or in the supplementary statement of the first informant, and that the informant did not claim that Redkar had ever attempted to extort money from him. The judge further found that there was “no material to indicate that any amount was, in fact, paid to the applicant/accused”, despite the prosecution’s case that extorted funds were to be distributed among the co-accused.

The prosecution’s reliance on call detail records to show contact between Redkar and other accused was also rejected, with the court holding that such contact, “without anything more, cannot be a circumstance to establish nexus with the organised crime syndicate”.

The court also accepted Redkar’s plea of parity, noting that several co-accused — including Riyaz Ahmed Bhati, Ajay Himmatlal Gosalia and Javed Shahabuddin Khan — had been discharged in the same case, despite allegations against some of them being more serious. Observing that Redkar’s role was similar to that of the discharged accused, the judge held that “the ground of parity is squarely applicable”.

Concluding that there was “no sufficient ground for proceeding against the applicant/accused”, the court ordered Redkar’s discharge from all the offences he was charged with.

With this order, six of the seven accused originally named in the case have been discharged, leaving Mohammed Salim Iqbal Qureshi alias ‘Salim Fruit’ as the sole accused remaining to face trial under the stringent provisions of MCOCA.