Khalil Ahmed, said to be an aide of don Dawood Ibrahim, was on Monday acquitted by the Delhi high court in a case of alleged attempt to extort money from a businessman here. He was booked under a stringent anti-organised crime law.

Justice Suresh Kait dismissed the police plea and upheld the trial court’s order absolving Khalil of the charges under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act (MCOCA) for running an organised crime syndicate.

Police slapped the MCOCA against Khalil saying he was running a crime syndicate and was involved in 34 cases of extortion, dacoity, kidnapping, assault, murder, intimidation, and attempt to murder from 1985 to 2009.

The court rejected the police contention that the MCOCA should be invoked against Khalil, who was arrested by from south Delhi in 2009, as he was wanted to face trial in 34 criminal cases for offences of extortion, murder, dacoity, kidnapping, assault, intimidation and attempt to murder.

“The offence under the MCOCA must comprise continuing unlawful activity relating to organised crime undertaken by an individual singly or jointly, either as a member of the organised crime syndicate or on behalf of such syndicate by use of coercive or other unlawful means with the objective of gaining pecuniary benefits or gaining undue economic or other advantage for himself or for any other person or for promoting insurgency,” said the court.

“The prosecution failed to ascertain whether the offences committed” in the 34 cases were related to organised crime or not, the court said.

Businessman Qmar Ahmed filed a complaint alleging that February 16, 2009, when he was in his shop with partner Sanjeev Bhist, two people came and handed over a mobile phone to him forcing him to speak to Khalil. Khalil demanded Rs10 lakh as extortion money and threatened to kill him and his family if his demand was not met.