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‘Sheer wastage of time’: Court rejects bail plea of ‘Dawood gang member’
Mohammed Salim Qureshi alias Salim Fruit was arrested in 2022 by the NIA which claimed that he had threatened builders and developers to extort money to fund terror activities of the fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim — on the directions of fugitive gangster Chhota Shakeel, his brother-in-law
The court said that this ground was available to Qureshi even during his earlier bail plea and it was “not at all non-compliance'”on the part of the NIA.
A SPECIAL court rejected the second bail application of an alleged Dawood Ibrahim gang member, calling it a “sheer wastage” of time, noting that there has been no change in circumstances from his earlier plea which was rejected in 2023.
Mohammed Salim Qureshi alias Salim Fruit was arrested in 2022 by the NIA which claimed that he had threatened builders and developers to extort money to fund terror activities of the fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim — on the directions of fugitive gangster Chhota Shakeel, his brother-in-law.
Qureshi had sought bail on various grounds, including that there had been no progress in the case and that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is yet to provide a copy of the electronic evidence against him despite an order directing the agency to do so in 2023.
The court said that this ground was available to Qureshi even during his earlier bail plea and it was “not at all non-compliance” on the part of the NIA.
“The NIA was and is ever ready to provide the copies/mirror images to the applicant/accused after it is received from the CFSL (Central Forensic Science Laboratory),” special judge C S Baviskar said on February 10.
Qureshi’s earlier bail plea was rejected in September 2023, with the court observing that there is prima facie evidence against him. Qureshi had then approached the Bombay High Court after over two months but had subsequently withdrawn the plea.
The special court said that no explanation was given as to why Qureshi had withdrawn the plea. The court held that without any change in circumstance, the second bail plea cannot be entertained, and said that it did not want to get into discussing merits of the case.
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“I have no hesitation to mention at the outset that filing of the present bail application….is sheer wastage of time for applicant/accused, for the NIA, for the learned advocates, and also wastage of time of this court,” the court said.
Qureshi was granted bail in other cases of extortion and forgery filed against him.
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