NIA files charge sheet against India's most wanted Dawood Ibrahim, Chhota Shakeel and 3 others in Mumbai

The charge sheet was filed in a case related to a global terrorist network and a transnational organised criminal syndicate, namely D-Company, which is involved in various terrorist and criminal activities in India, a spokesperson of the NIA said. 

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday filed a charge sheet in a Mumbai special court against wanted man Dawood Ibrahim, his close aide Chhota Shakeel, and three other individuals.

According to an NIA spokesperson, the charge sheet was filed in a case linked to a global terrorist network and D-Company, a transnational organised criminal syndicate that engages in different terrorist and criminal operations in India.

According to the spokesperson, the complaint was filed on February 3 at Police Station NIA Mumbai under various sections of the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act read with other parts of the Indian Penal Code.

The other three people charge-sheeted are Arif Abubakar Shaikh, Shabbir Abubakar Shaikh and Mohammad Salim Qureshi --- all residents of Mumbai. 

"Investigations have established that the accused persons who are members of the D-Company, a terrorist gang and an organised crime syndicate, had conspired to further the criminal activities of the gang by carrying out various types of unlawful activities," the spokesperson said. 

The NIA claimed that in furtherance of the conspiracy, they used intimidation and threats to raise, collect, and extort large sums of money for the D-Company for the benefit of a single terrorist in the current case, with the intent to jeopardise India's security and sow fear in the minds of the general public.

"It has also been established that the arrested accused persons received huge amounts of money through hawala channels, from the absconding/wanted accused based abroad, meant for triggering sensational terrorist/criminal acts in Mumbai and other parts of India to create terror in the minds of people. The accused persons were holding/in possession of the said 'proceeds of terrorism'," the spokesperson said.

(With inputs from PTI)