The Supreme Court of India on April 20 has ruled that the properties of wanted terrorist and underworld don Dawood Ibrahim in Mumbai, valued at crores, will be taken over by the government. The properties in Mumbai’s Nagpada, originally Dawood’s, had been taken over by his sister Haseena Parkar and mother Amina Bi Kaskar—they are both dead, reported NDTV.
The Indian government had sealed the properties under a law that allows the takeover of properties of smugglers, foreign exchange manipulators and their relatives in 1998. Parkar and Kaskar challenged this takeover that was initiated after the 1993 serial blasts in Mumbai which killed 257 people.
As Dawood fled the country, the departments concerned sought to seize properties belonging to him. The Supreme Court was moved after the tribunal and the Delhi High Court dismissed Parkar and Kaskar’s challenge to the takeover order in July 1998. The Supreme Court ordered status quo in the case in November 2012, as per the report.
According to the government, several opportunities were given to them to show legal sources of income to acquire the properties. No valid document was filed was by them.
As per reports, the two women had seven residential properties worth crores in their names–two in the name of Kasker and five in Parkar’s name. These properties were acquired with the illegal wealth of Ibrahim. A bench of Justice RK Agrawal and Justice AM Sapre in Supreme Court, therefore, dismissed the plea filed by his sister and mother
Ibrahim was considered to be the one behind the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts and he is listed as a global terrorist by UN Security Council’s IS and al-Qaida Sanctions Committee. India was vindicated in its assertions that Ibrahim was living in Pakistan when
UN Security Council released a latest list of terror organizations and terrorists listing Dawood Ibrahim and his Karachi address.
Three south Mumbai properties belonging to Ibrahim were auctioned for Rs 11.58 crore in November 2017 by the Ministry of Finance, under the Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act, Scroll reported.
The three properties, which were won by Saifi Burhani Upliftment Trust. were Hotel Raunaq Afroz, also known as Delhi Zaika, Shabnam Guest House and six rooms in Damarwala building, the report said.
The UK government froze Ibrahim’s hotel in Warwickshire and residential properties across the Midlands in September last year.
Ibrahim’s crime syndicate, popularly called the D-company, has diversified in many other unlawful fields, lawmakers in the United States were told on March 20. “Pakistan-based crime-terror group, D-company, whose origins lie in India, expanded Karachi’s historic role as a drug transhipment point, and built a powerful transnational crime-terror organisation, in part from drug proceeds,” Dr Louise Shelley, professor, Schar School of Policy and Government, at the George Mason University had told lawmakers.