Terror funding case: NIA court refuses bail to Dawood associate

A special court on Wednesday rejected the bail plea of Shabbir Abubakar Shaikh, who was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in 2022 in connection with a terror funding case against fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar.

The court rejected the bail plea of the 53-year-old, observing that there was enough material to prove that Shaikh participated in the unlawful activities of the D-company.

Along with Shaikh, the agency had also arrested his brother, Arif Bhaijaan, and gangster Chhota Shakeel’s brother-in-law, Mohammad Salim Qureshi, alias Salim Fruit, under Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

READ | Threat to flights: 16 cases registered in Delhi likely to be transferred to NIA

The three were accused of playing an active role in extorting huge sums of money in the name of D Company, through property dealings and dispute settlements, to raise funds for terrorist activities.

As per the NIA, Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar, identified as a global terrorist by the UN, controlled his criminal activities in India through his close associates.

The agency claimed that Shaikh was part of the associate group, which had “established a special unit for striking terror in the people of India by attacking eminent personalities in India by using explosive/firearms and other lethal weapons”.

Shaikh’s advocate submitted that no incriminating evidence was found, which shows his association with the D-company.

READ | BJP leader Praveen Nettaru murder case: NIA searches at 16 locations in Karnataka

He argued that invoking UAPA is a misuse of law since there is nothing on record to show that he was involved in planning any terror activity, and the mere recovery of ?5 lakh is not enough to attract the provisions of UAPA since Shaikh was involved in property-related business and was bound to carry cash.

Special sessions judge BD Shelke, however, observed that a witness statement records that Shaikh had received ?25 lakh from Chhota Shakeel through hawala.

The court relied on the statement of the witness, who said he had received instructions from a hawala operator called Rashidbhai Mafrania, a Pakistani national based in Dubai, to transfer ?25 lakh to Shaikh, stating that the money belonged to Chhota Shakeel and needed to be sent to Mumbai on an urgent basis, and rejected the bail plea.