ED summons Praful Patel over alleged land deal with Dawood's close aide

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday summoned senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Praful Patel, whose name has reportedly appeared in a land deal case linked to Dawood Ibrahim's close aide, Muhammed Iqbal Memon alias Iqbal Mirchi.

The economic offences watchdog summoned the leader to appear before it on October 18.

Iqbal Mirchi was a close aide of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim.

Patel had, on Monday, said that he will answer whatever he has to when the "time comes".

Meanwhile, former Maharashtra chief minister and senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan had said that the NDA government should investigate if there was any deal between Patel.

"If any deal or agreement was done, then this government should investigate and tell us what's happened," he had said on Monday.

Mirchi had bought three properties Sea View, Marium Lodge and Rabia Mansion totally measuring 1,537 square metres in Worli area of Mumbai on September 1986 for an amount of Rs 6.5 lakh through his company Rockside Enterprises.

Later, Mirchi absconded from India and consequently proclamation against him was issued and his various properties were attached under Smuggling and Foreign Exchange Mpulators Authority (SAFEMA), the probe agency said.

The investigative agency has identified the Benami properties of Mirchi, including 10 properties in Mumbai, one property in UAE and 25 properties in the UK.

The ED will start the process to attach the properties in India and letters rogatory will be sent to the UK and the UAE to attach the properties.

( With inputs from ANI )