Nawab Malik not innocent, dealt with Haseena Parkar: ED

Mumbai: Former Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik dealt with Haseena Parkar, the late sister of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar which indicates that he is not innocent, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Anil Singh told the special court on Wednesday concluding the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) arguments opposing the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader’s bail plea

Mumbai: Former Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik dealt with Haseena Parkar, the late sister of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar which indicates that he is not innocent, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Anil Singh told the special court on Wednesday concluding the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) arguments opposing the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader’s bail plea.

Mumbai, India - November 10, 2021: Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik reacts as he addresses a press conference at Kurla, in Mumbai, India, on Wednesday, November 10, 2021. (Photo by Vijay Bate/HT Photo) (HT PHOTO)

Malik, 63, was arrested by the ED in February under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in a case first registered by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) against fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar and his close associates like Shakeel Shaikh Babu Moiuddin aka Chhota Shakeel, Ibrahim Mushtaq Abdul Razzaq Memon aka Tigar Memon.

Malik had subsequently sought bail on July 5 and his lawyer argued that his arrest indicated no predicate offence to prosecute him for money laundering.

However, the ED in its chargesheet claimed that Malik conspired with Parkar to usurp the Goawala Compound in Kurla, using a fabricated power of attorney, in September 2005. The chargesheet claimed that the proceeds of crime generated through rent and other income from the land, which amounted to ₹15.99 crore, was used for terror funding in active collaboration with terror organisations.

The ASG told judge Rahul Rokde of the special court for trying members of Parliament and state legislators that the NIA considered the case registered against wanted terrorist Dawood Ibrahim and his henchmen was the predicate offence. ASG Singh said that though Goawala Compound was not listed [in the NIA case], the same modus operandi had been used by Parkar to usurp other properties.

Singh contended that Ibrahim’s criminal activities were conducted by his sister after he left India. Parkar’s business also included forcible settling of property disputes. She died in 2014.

“Malik was dealing with Parkar so there is no question of him being innocent. He knew this was a tainted property. They still had a meeting and a property worth crores was reflected as bought in lakhs, and to cover this up, [they] executed certain documents. Merely because some document is executed, it does not make the tainted property untainted,” ASG said, arguing that Malik should not be released on bail.

Malik argued that the power of attorney was not forged but authenticated by the respective government department.

“In the case against Malik, Parkar was involved. The business of Parkar was to settle property disputes and make money out of them. She entered Goawala Compound to settle matters and her own son has said in his statement that she owned the property. [There is a] statement made by 1993 Mumbai bomb blast convict Sardar Shahwali Khan. The brother-in-law of Chota Shakeel also made a [similar] statement, and Iqbal Kaskar, Dawood Ibrahim’s brother, also confirmed that she owned the property. These are crucial pieces of evidence. Sardar Khan was an eyewitness who in his statement had talked about Malik’s meeting with Parkar and giving money to her,” Singh said.