Dawood aide arrested in land-grabbing case

Mumbai, Sep 6: A close aide of fugitive don Dawood Ibrahim was arrested this morning from the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport here in connection with a land grabbing case.

Crime Branch sleuths arrested Iqbal Attarwala, a businessman who was deported to India from Dubai, as soon as he arrived at around 0800 hrs. Ranchhodbhai Patel, a 63-year-old builder, had lodged a complaint with the Malad police implicating Attarwala in the land-grabbing case.

A top police official informed that Attarwala was taken to the Kandivali crime branch office immediately after his arrest and would be produced before the 37th Metropolitan Magistrate's court later in the day.

Attarwala's property in Mumbai had been attached and sealed by the police as he was wanted in the land grabbing and extortion case.

According to Mr Patel's complaint, he had purchased plots of land from one Haribhau Keni at Chinch Bunder in Malad in 2004. On November 29 of the same year, at around 0100 hrs, Iqbal Attarwala, Atul Patel, Lalbhai Shah and a few others had broken the lock of the gate, assaulted security guards and threatened the watchman and six tenants with dire consequences if they did not vacate the premises, according to the complaint.

Attarwala had subsequently fled to Dubai fearing his arrest in the case. Police had declared him an absconding accused along with Chhota Shakeel.

UNI