Mumbai Chhota Shakeel’s brother-in-law Salim Qureshi alias Salim Fruit has been arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with a case related to the Dawood Ibrahim gang.
Qureshi, known as the CEO of D-company and one of the most trusted people in the gang, is a resident of Meer apartment, MT Ansari Marg, Arab Lane in Mumbai Central.
The probe 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. Earlier on May 12, two accused, namely Arif Abubaker Shaikh and Shabbir Abubaker Shaikh, were arrested in connection with the case.
Qureshi is a close associate of the Dawood gang and has played an active role in extorting huge amounts of money in the name of Chhota Shakeel through property dealing and dispute settlement. He also played an active role in raising terror funds in furtherance of terrorist activities of the D-company.
Earlier, on May 9, the agency conducted raids at 29 locations in Mumbai and in adjoining Thane district against associates of fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. The searches were held in as many as 24 locations in Mumbai and five places within the limits of Mira Bhayander police commissionerate. The agency interrogated several former lieutenants and those who had association with the Dawood gang. The first person who was picked up from his residence was Salim Qureshi, who was brought to the agency officer in south Mumbai for interrogation.
Apart from Qureshi, the federal agency questioned several other alleged gang members – Guddu Pathan, Qayyum Shaikh, Sohail Khandwani, and Samir Hingora, a convict in the 1993 Mumbai serial bombings case along with 21 people whose office and residential premises were raided. The searches were held at multiple locations in the western suburbs such as Bandra, Santacruz, Goregaon, Malad and Borivali, and in Nagpada, Grant Road and Parel and Mahim areas in south and central Mumbai.
“During the searches, various incriminating materials, including electronic devices, documents of investments in real estate, cash and firearms, were seized,” the NIA then said in its statement.
Based on the NIA case, the Enforcement Directorate had also registered a money laundering case against Dawood and his close associates on February 14. On February 23, the ED arrested Maharashtra minority development minister Nawab Malik for allegedly usurping a ₹300 crore-worth property at Kurla from a local resident with the help of Dawood’s late sister Haseena Parkar.