Arif Abubakar Sheikh alias Arif Bhaijaan, accused in a high-profile terror-funding case, passed away on Saturday due to a cardiac arrest while undergoing treatment at a government hospital, confirmed his lawyer.
Adv. M B Shaikh, who is the brother-in-law of gangster Chhota Shakeel, admitted Sheikh to Sir J J Hospital late Friday night after Sheikh complained of breathlessness.
Despite medical efforts, he succumbed during treatment.
A relative present at the hospital mentioned that Sheikh, aged 63 and incarcerated at Arthur Road Central Jail, had no known prior health issues.
However, both the jail and hospital authorities have remained tight-lipped about his health condition.
Following necessary procedures, the authorities released Sheikh’s body to his family members for the final rites later in the afternoon.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) apprehended Sheikh and his brother Shabbir in May 2023 in connection with a terror-funding case initially filed in February 2022.
The case implicated fugitive mafia figures Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar and Chhota Shakeel, alleging activities ranging from arms smuggling to money laundering and links to global terrorist organizations such as Al-Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).
The brothers were accused of acquiring assets through illicit means. They were under investigation for their alleged role in narco-terrorism and counterfeit currency circulation.
In a related development, authorities arrested another associate, Salim Qureshi alias Salim Fruit, in August 2023 on suspicion of assuming control of Dawood’s criminal empire following the demise of his sister Haseena (Kaskar) Parker.
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