Thane man breaks into seized flat linked to Dawood Ibrahim’s family, booked

Thane police booked Haresh Kamble for allegedly breaking into an Enforcement Directorate-attached flat, removing its possession notice and changing the lock.

Four years after the Enforcement Directorate seized a flat worth ₹55 lakh in Thane West after finding that fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim’s brother Iqbal Kaskar and others had resorted to extortion to get the property registered in their name, a Thane West resident broke into the flat on July 12 this year.

ED officials on October 15 changed the lock of the flat in presence of police personnel and witnesses and restored its possession. (HT Photo)

Haresh Kamble, the accused, claimed sole and legal ownership of the flat, engaged a key maker to break the lock and removed the possession notice pasted by the ED on the front door to buttress his ownership claims.

On Friday, the ED said Kamble had been booked by the Thane police for house-trespass and knowing disobedience of a lawful order issued by a public servant, based on a complaint from the agency.

“As a deterrent action against miscreants for trespassing in the confirmed attached properties in the possession of the ED, Mumbai zonal office-I has lodged an FIR on October 15,” an ED officer said on condition of anonymity.

The FIR was registered at the Kasarvadavali police station after the ED restored possession of the fourth-floor flat in a housing society on GB Road in Thane West under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

According to the FIR, Haresh Kamble allegedly entered the seized flat between 4pm and 6pm on July 12 by removing the lock with the help of a key-maker. He allegedly insisted that he was the sole and legal owner of the flat, removed the ED’s possession notice pasted on the main door, and installed a new lock.

On July 16, the housing society’s management committee informed the ED about the incident, following which an inspection and enquiry was conducted, the agency said in its complaint to the Thane police, based on which the FIR was registered.

The flat was provisionally attached on April 8, 2022 during the ED’s investigation in the extortion case against Kaskar. The attachment was confirmed by the adjudicating authority under the PMLA on September 29, 2022, and the agency took possession of the property on December 17, 2024.

The ED’s probe against Kaskar, Mumtaz Sheikh alias Raju, Israr Ali Jamil Saiyad and others was launched on the basis of an alleged extortion case registered by the Kasarvadavali police. During investigation, the ED found that the accused had allegedly resorted to threats and extortion and demanded that flats be registered in their favour or at their instance. Accordingly, on May 29, 2015, a fourth floor flat in a housing society on GB Road in Thane West was registered in the name of Sheikh.

After it came to the ED’s notice that trespassers had broken the lock and removed the possession notice, claiming ownership of the flat, necessary steps were taken to safeguard the attached property, agency officials said. The incident was intimated to the special court, after which the court directed ED to restore the possession with police assistance, if required.

In compliance with the court’s order, ED officials on October 15 changed the lock of the flat in presence of police personnel and witnesses and restored its possession. A fresh notice was also affixed on the premises, clearly mentioning that any aggrieved person may either approach the office of the ED or the court where the trial against Kaskar and others is underway, officials said.

“The Thane police have registered a case under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Trespassers will be punished in accordance with the law,” the official quoted earlier said.

Thane police’s deputy commissioner of police ( zone 5) Prashant Kadam and Kasarwadwali senior police inspector NB Kolhatkar did not respond to multiple calls and messages from HT seeking a comment.

With inputs from Kaptan Mali

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