7 'Shakeel' men are acquitted

The special MCOCA court acquitted seven alleged Chhota Shakeel gang members accused of extorting money from a small-time businessman. Afzal alias Abdul Supariwala, Mohammed Khan, Mustaq Nabab, Salim Qureshi, Jamil Shaikh, Mohammed Sheikh, and Shahidmiyan Qureshi They were acquitted following the prosecution's failure to prove the case.The court refused to accept the confessions made by three of the arrested accused.
The prosecution in the case also failed to produce any evidence linking the accused to Shakeel.
The defence said that the court observed contradictions in the statement of the complainant and the transcript of his telephonic conversation with the persons who had issued him the threat.
According to prosecution, from October 1, 2001 the complainant received life threatening calls from Dubai demanding Rs 50 lakh . This amount was later reduced to Rs 5 lakh. The complainant went to police. The Anti-Extortion Cell laid a trap and arrested Afzal alias Abdul Supariwala and Mohammed Khan on October 12. Mustaq Nabab was arrested on October 28. On November 21, 2006 the other accused, Salim Qureshi, Jamil Shaikh, Mohammed Sheikh, Shahidmiyan Qureshi were arrested after they were deported from Dubai