No bail for Ejaz Lakdawala’s daughter in extortion case; to remain in judicial custody

manish.pathak@htlive.com

manish.pathak@htlive.com

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The Esplanade court on Wednesday granted bail to gangster Ejaz Lakdawala’s daughter Sonia in connection with a fake passport case, but rejected her bail application in connection with the extortion case in which she was arrested on January 6. Sonia will, therefore, continue to stay in judicial custody.

Her bail plea was rejected after the Mumbai crime branch opposed the application in the extortion case because they suspect she might have helped her father in another five to six extortion cases in the city. Crime branch officers also told the court that Sonia had been interacting with her father, using at least seven mobile applications that government agencies could not recover transcripts of.

The crime branch claims she used an application to transfer US dollars to her father and allegedly helped him to run his extortion business in the country via various apps.

However, Sonia’s lawyer Devanand Manerkar, said, “No doubt that she is Ejaz Lakdawala’s daughter. She was born in the gangster’s family but it does not mean that she is a gangster by birth. The police are claiming Sonia was continuously in touch with her father. Being his daughter and due to love and affection, she may have been in touch with him, but she has no involvement in the crime or any criminal activities.”

Sonia was arrested at Mumbai international airport on December 28 when she attempting to fly to Nepal on a fake passport. Police arrested her in the fake passport case and on January 6 she was arrested in the extortion case for demanding and threatening a Bandra-based builder. Lakdawala was also arrested in the same case after being arrested from Patna on January 8.