Poornima Swaminathan

Hassan Ali, the Pune-based stud farm owner and businessman who, the police believe, is worth at least Rs38,000 crore, has no assets registered in his name.

Ali is allegedly involved in a Rs10,000 crore hawala racket and wanted for procuring three fake passports for himself.

The Worli police who are investigating the fake passport case, fanned out teams to identify his properties after he was declared a proclaimed offender by a Bhoiwada court on April 29. As per the law, after a person is declared a proclaimed offender, the police have the power to attach either movable or immovable property, or both, belonging to him.

Ali was declared a proclaimed offender after he failed to show up in court despite repeated warrants issued against him.

The police team which tried to identify Ali’s properties came across a flat in Peddar Road and a farm house in the interiors of Pune.While the flat was in the name of his brother-in-law, his wife owned the farm house.

“We have not come across any property in Ali’s name. There are only a dozen horses that we have identified to be his,” said a senior police inspector, requesting anonymity.

However, the police hope to catch Ali on the wrong foot soon.

“We are trying to get details from his family members. But so far, it has been fruitless,” said the officer.

Early this week, Ali moved an application in the Bombay High Court to quash the First Information Report (FIR) by the Regional Passport Office (RPO) wherein he is accused of procuring fake passports.

Mumbai RPO officials had approached the Worli police station in February and registered a complaint against Ali, alleging that he procured at least three fake passports - from Hyderabad, Patna and Mumbai.

Ali faces charges for cheating under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 12 of the Passport Act, which deals with cases where false information has been furnished to procure a passport.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) said most of Ali’s wealth is unaccounted for. He owns pedigree horses and also trades in thoroughbreds. He also owns two Mercedes Benz, has property in Mumbai and Pune. In its affidavit filed in the High Court, the ED stated that prima facia investigations suggested a strong international crime syndicate.

Several police teams were fanned across India to trace Ali after he was declared a proclaimed offender. However, the addresses provided in the fake passports led them on a wild goose chase. Senior police officials suspected that Ali may have fled the country either via Nepal or using one of the fake passports.

The police are gathering details about Ali’s other family members to get clues about his whereabouts.

Source : DNA