Extortion case: Dawood aide sent to police custody till February 13

An officer said, “Based on the complaint we received, a dry fruit trader had been receiving extortion calls from Lakdawala.

A day after arresting former close aide of gangster Dawood Ibrahim, Tareeq Parveen, in connection with an extortion case, the Mumbai Police Crime Branch on Monday told a local court that he had met a dry fruit trader who was getting extortion calls from gangster Ejaz Lakdawala and allegedly demanded Rs 10 lakh to “settle the matter”.

In the FIR registered at MRA Marg police station, police have also named Lakdawala. The court remanded Parveen to police custody till February 13.

An officer said, “Based on the complaint we received, a dry fruit trader had been receiving extortion calls from Lakdawala. The trader approached Parveen, who volunteered to settle the matter in exchange for Rs 10 lakh. The trader paid him Rs 3 lakh after which Parveen started harassing him for the rest of the money, following which the trader fled from the city.”

The officer said they suspect Parveen helped in scouting victims for Lakdawala. The officer added they are hopeful of finding out who else was part of the network assisting Lakdawala, during his interrogation.