Thane police on Monday arrested Iqbal Kaskar, India's most wanted criminal Dawood Ibrahim's brother, in connection with an extortion case.
The Thane Anti-Extortion Cell, led by encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma, took Kaskar in for questioning from his Mumbai residence in the evening. He was later arrested.
"Kaskar called a builder from Thane around four months ago and tried to extort money from him. The builder lodged a complaint with the police a few days ago. When we traced the number, we confirmed it was Kaskar's," a police officer from the anti-extortion cell said.
"We have questioned Kaskar about the call. We have detained him as a prime suspect in the case," the officer added.
Kaskar, who was deported from the United Arab Emirates in 2003, is said to be operating his brother's real estate business in the city, the police said.
He was wanted in a murder case and the Sara Sahara illegal construction case. However, he was acquitted in both the cases in 2007.
This is Sharma's first big case since taking over the anti-extortion cell last month. He was previously posted with the Mumbai police, but dismissed from service in August 2008 for his alleged close ties to the underworld.
The Thane Anti-Extortion Cell, led by encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma, took Kaskar in for questioning from his Mumbai residence in the evening. He was later arrested.
"Kaskar called a builder from Thane around four months ago and tried to extort money from him. The builder lodged a complaint with the police a few days ago. When we traced the number, we confirmed it was Kaskar's," a police officer from the anti-extortion cell said.
"We have questioned Kaskar about the call. We have detained him as a prime suspect in the case," the officer added.
Kaskar, who was deported from the United Arab Emirates in 2003, is said to be operating his brother's real estate business in the city, the police said.
He was wanted in a murder case and the Sara Sahara illegal construction case. However, he was acquitted in both the cases in 2007.
This is Sharma's first big case since taking over the anti-extortion cell last month. He was previously posted with the Mumbai police, but dismissed from service in August 2008 for his alleged close ties to the underworld.