Mumbai: Two of Iqbal Kaskar's properties receive third eviction notice

Iqbal Kaskar

Fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim's brother Iqbal Kaskar has been asked to vacate two of his dilapidated properties in Mumbai. The structures are the Damarwala building in Pakmodia Street and the Shabnam Guest House in the JJ Marg area. The tenants of both the buildings said they would move court against the notice.

A four-page notice (accessed by mid-day) was pasted outside the Damarwala building, asking occupants to vacate the structure, under the Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act, 1976 (SAFEMA).

The notice has been issued to 26 people who have shops and flats in the building, which includes Kaskar and his late sister Hasina Parkar. They were first issued a notice under SAFEMA and NDPS Act in 2002, which they appealed against on June 9, 2015. However, in January 2015, the residents had received another notice, this time from the BMC, under the MMC Act. Then, on February 7 this year, they were issued another notice another SAFEMA, which they challenged once again, this time at the Delhi high court. On March 6, the court asked the department to not take any action against the petitioners until the next date of hearing.

Following all those notices, the latest one was issued on September 6 and pasted on building wall. Earlier this year, the appellate tribunal for forfeited property had given the central government an approval to take over two of Dawood Ibrahim's properties in south Mumbai, declaring them "illegally acquired" and approving their takeover under SAFEMA.