Mumbai: The sessions court has granted bail to Riyaz Bhati, a close aide of underworld gangster Dawood Ibrahim, and Salim Qureshi alias Salim Fruit, the brother-in-law of gangster Chhota Shakeel, in an extortion case registered with the Versova police station and probed by Mumbai crime branch in 2022.
About The Case
While granting bail to Bhati and Qureshi, the court questioned the complainant’s allegations, calling them “ridiculous and absurd”. The complainant, who deals in gold and also runs a catering business, had claimed that for his business expansion he was trying to be friends with Bhati. Hence, he went to attend Bhati’s birthday party held at a hotel on February 19, 2021.
At the party, the complainant claimed that Bhati introduced him to Qureshi as Chhota Shakeel’s brother-in-law. The complainant claimed that the introduction was allegedly meant to scare him. Besides, Bhati said that Qureshi, like the complainant, was also fond of playing cards.
The complainant claimed that after the party they went to a place to play cards, where he won. When he demanded the money, Qureshi allegedly said that it would be adjusted next time. The complainant claimed that when he insisted on getting the money, Qureshi allegedly threatened him. After few days, the complainant again played cards with Qureshi, wherein the latter won. However, the complainant sought pending dues from Qureshi, who threatened him and sought the amount he had won this time.
The complainant claimed that Qureshi called him several times and demanded the money. The complainant claimed that Qureshi demanded Rs 62 lakh as extortion, following which he transferred Rs 7.50 lakh in his account. Qureshi allegedly threatened to take his Range Rover car, which was in his wife’s name.
Observation Made By The Court
However, the court refused to accept these allegations and observed, “This is ridiculous and absurd. Had the complainant been really frightened of Qureshi, he would not have gone to the club to play cards. He went to play another game with Qureshi. These facts create doubts against the complainant as no one forced him to do so.”
The court also said that gambling is an individual act and done in an individual capacity. “By no stretch of imagination, this act can be connected with any organised crime syndicate, much less headed by dreaded gangster Chhota Shakil,” the court said.
