Mumbai Crime Branch Busts Underworld-Linked Extortion Racket; ₹40 Lakh Paid To Dawood Aide Sarvar Khan

Mumbai: In a major breakthrough, the Mumbai Crime Branch has exposed a gang involved in the abduction and extortion of drug mafia Sajid Electricwala and his associate Shabbir Siddhiqui.

The operation has revealed the involvement of Sarvar Khan (43), the key mastermind, who has deep connections with the Dawood Ibrahim gang and is a close associate of Anwar Babu Shaikh younger brother of fugitive gangster Chhota Shakeel.

According to crime branch officials, Sarvar Khan was earlier arrested by VP Road Police in 2011 in a robbery conspiracy case. He also has four more cases registered against him at RAK, Byculla, and Kherwadi police stations.

Anwar Babu Shaikh, who fled India shortly after Dawood’s escape in 1984, is wanted in serious offences including extortion and murder. He is suspected to be living in Pakistan.

Among Sarvar’s associates arrested in the recent case are Yunus, Mehtab Ali, and Satish Kadu — none of whom had prior records. However, Tausif Zaidi has cases of molestation and Arms Act violations registered against him at Deonar and Tilak Nagar police stations. Another accused, Rahul Sawant, has six cases registered at Hill Line and Badlapur police stations in Thane district.

Santosh Waghmare, one of the more notorious members of the gang, has 12 cases against him under various charges including MCOCA, Arms Act violations, illegal liquor trade, and assault. His crimes span multiple police stations including Jogeshwari, JJ Marg, Crime Branch Property Cell, Mahim, MIDC, Revdanda, and Byculla.

Police sources revealed that out of the ₹50 lakh ransom demanded, ₹40 lakh was received by Sarvar Khan. The accused managed to evade the police for nearly 10 to 12 days and even escaped twice during pursuit operations.

Notably, in 2021, the Mumbai Police had booked Anwar Babu Shaikh in an extortion case after a slum redevelopment builder in the western suburbs received threatening calls from him. Though two people were arrested, Anwar had already fled the country years ago. The Mumbai Crime Branch has initiated proceedings under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in this case.