A special MCOCA court has granted bail to Salim Penwala, also known as Salim Dadhi, an alleged associate of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and aide of Ejaz Lakdawala, in connection with a 2011 extortion case registered by Mumbai’s JJ Marg police. The court cited lack of direct evidence and inconsistencies in the prosecution’s version of events.
The prosecution claimed that Dadhi had received ₹25 lakh from a ₹50 lakh extortion collected by Lakdawala from a businessman in 2011. However, Lakdawala had allegedly revealed Dadhi’s involvement during an interrogation after his own arrest in 2020—nine years after the incident—only to later retract his statement, alleging he had been coerced with threats to his daughter.
Dadhi was arrested in October 2020, long after the original case was registered. The prosecution had previously arrested five individuals who allegedly opened fire on the businessman before extorting money. The businessman survived the attack and reportedly paid the demanded amount.
The court, however, noted that if, as per the prosecution, Dadhi only came in contact with Lakdawala in 2019, it would be “axiomatic” that he had no connection to the 2011 offence. “There is nothing on record beyond Lakdawala’s retracted statement to implicate the applicant,” the judge stated.
So far, 36 witnesses have been examined in the case, and none have testified against Dadhi. The court also noted that the complainant never alleged any threat or gain involving Dadhi, and his connection to Lakdawala at the time of the crime remains unsubstantiated.
The ruling brings into question the prosecution’s timeline and use of retrospective associations to link accused persons in serious criminal cases.
