A special bench of the sessions court of Mumbai took cognizance of the Enforcement Directorate’s charge sheet filed against Nawab Malik, a minister in the Maharashtra government.

The court said in its order that there is prima facie evidence that Malik was directly and deliberately involved in money laundering and criminal conspiracy to take over the Goawala compound located in Kurla. In this case, the court has allowed further action against Malik and Sardar Sahavali Khan, the accused in the 1993 bomb blast case. Khan’s name is also in the case.

Special Judge Rahul N Rokde in his order said, “The accused Nawab Malik, along with Hasina Parkar, Salim Patel, and Sardar Khan, who are members of the D Company, had committed a criminal conspiracy and usurped the property of Munira Plumber. Prima facie it appears that the accused was directly involved in money laundering despite being aware of all the information. That is why he is guilty of committing a money laundering offense under section 3 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. According to section 4, he stands punishable.

The ED charge sheet said that Malik had conducted a survey of illegal tenants in the Goawala Compound through a surveyor and had sought the help of Sardar Shahvali Khan to coordinate with the surveyor. The ED has also claimed in its charge sheet that Malik had held several meetings with Hasina Parkar and Sardar Khan to grab the land.

Sardar Khan has recorded his statement in this regard with ED and this statement is also part of the charge sheet. In this statement, he has said that his brother Rehman was the one who collected rent on behalf of Munira Plumber for The Goawala Compound. The ‘Kurla General Store’ at Goawala Compound was closed after the 1992 floods, after which the same closed ‘Kurla General Store’ was allegedly taken over by Nawab Malik in the name of his brother Aslam Malik. Sardar Khan claimed that his tenant was then regularised in the name of Aslam. Nawab Malik later allegedly usurped the Goawala compound through Solidus Investments.

According to the charge sheet, Sardar Khan told the ED that several meetings were held between Nawab Malik, Aslam Malik, and Haseena Parkar, and in at least two meetings he (Sardar Khan) was also present. Sardar Shahvali Khan is serving a life sentence in Aurangabad jail in connection with the 1993 bomb blast case. He is learned to have attended these meetings while out of jail on parole. The ED has since alleged that Nawab Malik had appointed a surveyor to survey tenants lodged in the property illegally. During the investigation, the ED seized some documents related to the surveyor’s survey of the property pertaining to the surveyor dated May 2005 from the possession of the surveyor. It shows that Sardar Khan was mentioned as a customer in the documents by Nawab Malik.

The charge sheet also includes the statement of Parkar’s son Alishan. Alishan had earlier told the ED that his mother had financial dealings with Dawood till her death in 2014 and Salim Patel was one of her accomplices. Alishan had told the ED that his mother, along with Patel, settled the Goawala compound dispute and opened the office and took over part of it and she later sold it to Malik.

Earlier on 21st April 2022, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) submitted the charge sheet against the NCP leader and Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik in Special PMLA court, in connection with the Dawood Ibrahim money laundering case. The charge sheet contained 5000 pages and includes a statement of witnesses and other documentary evidence.

References:

opindia.com