Nawab Malik bail plea: Kurla property remains tainted due to link with Dawood’s sister, ED tells court

The ED in its probe has relied on the statement of Munira Plumber, who owned the property. She had claimed that she executed a power of attorney in the name of Salim Patel – an associate of Parkar – to clear encroachment on the property.

Plumber had said that Patel forged another power of attorney and claimed that he had the right to sell the property, which was eventually sold to Malik. Plumber had claimed that she came to know of the sale only in 2021.

Malik had claimed in his defence that documents accessed through the Right to Information Act showed that Plumber had in 1999 executed and authenticated the power of attorney at the sub-registrar’s office. He had said that her claim that it was forged was incorrect. It was also argued that the FIR based on which the ED had filed its case did not refer to the Goawala compound or Malik.

“To say that the FIR does not mention about this property may not be correct. The FIR mentions the business of Dawood Ibrahim in India through his gang, D company. It mentions that the business was controlled by Haseena Parkar, including in settling property disputes,” Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh told the court.

He added that the ED had recorded crucial statements, including that of Parkar’s son, Dawood’s brother Iqbal Kaskar and 1993 blasts convict Sardar Khan, who has also been named as a co-accused of Malik. Singh claimed that these statements show the connection of the Kurla property with Parkar.

“You (Malik) knew this was a tainted property. Merely because some documents were executed does not make the property untainted. This is a stringent offence and bail should not be granted at this stage,” Singh said.

The court will hear a rejoinder by Malik’s lawyer on Monday.