3 min readMumbaiMar 29, 2024 07:32 PM IST
First published on: Mar 29, 2024 at 07:08 PM IST
OBSERVING THAT the accused cannot seek relief by claiming that he was merely a broker in properties linked to fugitive gangster Iqbal Mirchi, a special court on Thursday rejected the discharge application of a man booked by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Ranjit Bindra was arrested in October 2019 by the ED, claiming that he had played a crucial role in the illegal dealing of properties of Mirchi in Mumbai. The properties were claimed to have been purchased through proceeds of crime of Iqbal Mohammed Memon, popularly known as Iqbal Mirchi, a close aide of gangster Dawood Ibrahim. Bindra approached the court recently claiming that he had only brokered the transaction from the buyer’s side.
“His (Bindra’s) own statements clearly demonstrate that he was well aware that the basic source of money for the properties (the three buildings) was the money generated by Iqbal Mirchi and his associates through criminal activities related to 10 cases and various other cases as well. Even if the applicant wants to portray himself innocently as a broker, the truth and reality are different and clearly indicate that he actively and knowingly assisted in the concealment of the proceeds of crime and facilitated their use by Iqbal Mirchi and various other accused persons,” special Judge M G Deshpande said in the order.
The court added that evidence showed that Bindra had visited London and Dubai where he had meetings with Mirchi. These trips were between March and August 2010, the ED has said in its chargesheet.
These properties, namely, Rabia Mansion, Marium Lodge and Sea View were owned by Sir Mohammed Yusuf Trust. In 1991, the Trust officially handed over possession of the properties to Mirchi. In 1999, when Mirchi was declared a proclaimed offender and his properties were being attached, the Trust claimed that they still owned these three properties and sought their release from the attachment process in 2005.
The ED claims this was done through misleading the court by claiming that the Trust still had ownership. Subsequently, through Mirchi’s associate Humayun Merchant, the properties were agreed to be sold to a company linked with Dheeraj Wadhawan, the promoter of DHFL (Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited). The ED alleges that this deal was brokered through multiple persons including Merchant and Bindra, who is a relative of Wadhawan. While Bindra claimed that others who also acted as brokers were not charged, the court said he had actively participated in the transaction despite knowledge about Mirchi’s connection with the properties.
“Yet, he step ahead and started dealing with the properties of Iqbal Mirchi being ‘broker’ and had also multiple meetings with Iqbal Mirchi in Dubai and London,” the court said, rejecting his discharge plea. The trial in the case is yet to begin.
The properties were claimed to have been purchased through proceeds of crime of Iqbal Mohammed Memon, popularly known as Iqbal Mirchi, a close aide of gangster Dawood Ibrahim. 
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