Bhubaneswar: From tender works to stevedoring to real estate and hotel chains, arrested gangster Sayed Usman Ali aka Tito has allegedly set up a huge empire from the ill-gotten money through his crime syndicate.
The Special Task Force (STF) of Crime Branch will soon move court seeking permission to attach the property of gangster Tito which is estimated to be over Rs 100 crore.
The Crime Branch is preparing a blue print to attach the property of Tito on the basis of The Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 1944.
“Odisha government had come up with a law to seize property of those involved in criminal activities or any illegal businesses,” said former DG Sanjiv Marik.
Crime Branch sources said efforts are also on to ascertain Tito’s involvement in ‘Hawala’ racket. Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Income Tax department would also be approached for investigation into Tito’s monetary transactions.
It is suspected that Tito used to carry out monetary transactions worth crores through the bank accounts in the name of his wife.
Tito, who owns several luxury cars, is also believed to have invested in several properties including hotels in Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Goa.
The investigation agency is hopeful to elicit more information regarding Tito during the second phase interrogation. Today, the court allowed STF to take the gangster on remand for four more days.
“Court has allowed us four days remand. As our investigation is still on, it won’t be proper to reveal anything on Tito’s links and findings as it may hamper the investigation,” said Crime Branch DSP, Ramchandra Thambe.
“There is no law that bars anyone who has already left criminal activities from buying property. First let STF prove that the property belongs to the accused,” said Tito’s laywer, Bana Bihari Mohanty.