Didn't know Iqbal Mirchi's wife was undesirable person: Praful Patel

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], Oct 15 (ANI): Former union minister and senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Praful Patel on Tuesday said that he had no reason to believe that Hazra Iqbal Memon, wife of Dawood Ibrahim's close aide Iqbal Mirchi, was an undesirable person.
Patel's name has reportedly appeared in a land deal case linked to Dawood Ibrahim's close aide, Muhammed Iqbal Memon alias Iqbal Mirchi.
Patel also said that he or his family members also did not make any financial transaction with her.
"At that time, there was no reason to believe that Hazra Iqbal Memon was an undesirable person or that dealing with her was a violation of the law. There has not been a single Naya paisa financial transaction between her and any entity of the Patel family," he said addressing a press conference here.
He also raised a question on the government saying if they had their reservations, why have they still not taken possession of the land?
"If the government of any agency had told us that this assignment of property should be in favour of the government. It would have been done. Why has the government not taken possession of the land?" Patel said.
The NCP leader said that if the government agencies had any reason to believe that Hazra Iqbal Memon was an undesirable person, it should have been duly notified to us.
"She had been paying rent, filing income tax returns and living in the country at the time. She was even given a passport to travel to Saudi Arabia in 1999. In the same year, the Supreme Court had restored her passport and given her along with all the rights to travel," he said.
Patel also said that the property had gone into litigation after a family dispute following the death of his father. "The property was under a court receiver the whole time and we were merely confirming parties," he added.
Defending his signature on the document handing over the possession of the land, Patel said: "You (media) are questioning me why I have put my signature on the document. As co-owner, I had to give her the consent. Otherwise, the title would not have been registered which would have been a contempt of court."
"We did not have any control over the property or the right in the property which has been established by the order of a high court and is duly registered in the sub-registrar office," he said.
"Her right to stay in the property arose out of a High Court order in 1988," he added.
Patel said that the core issue is how Memon and her husband got into the building in Worli.
"Millennium Developers, a special purpose vehicle was formed to reconstruct the building after the MCDM declared the building unsafe. Under a consent order filed in the Bombay High Court in 1999, Millennium Developers was given right to negotiate and settle tenants including Memon by offering them alternate accommodation or re-accommodation in the renovated building," he added.
Patel's name has reportedly appeared in a land deal case linked to Dawood Ibrahim's close aide, Muhammed Iqbal Memon alias Iqbal Mirchi. He was also reportedly summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over the matter.
He was also reportedly summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over the matter. (ANI)