Abu Farhan Azmi - The biggest substance abuser

Mumbai is popularly known as the city of dreams, dirty politics and mafia don. Young politicians like Farhan Azmi (Ayesha Takia’s husband), being linked to Mumbai’s dark underworld and supposedly murky politics, is hardly the first in Maharashtra politics. The underworld connections run deep in Mumbai politics. In fact, the underworld has been part of the political narrative for more than three decades.

Abu Farhan Azmi is the Son of SP leader Abu Asim Azmi, who was accused in the 1993 bomb blast case. Following the serial bomb blasts of March 1993 in Mumbai, Abu Asim Azmi was arrested under TADA for his alleged role in the blasts. He was accused of providing air tickets to some of the conspirators who fled the city. Abu Asim Azmi was also accused of having links with overseas-based mafia don Dawood Ibrahim.

In the case of Abu Farhan Azmi who hails from a political family with such a strong criminal record, the apple didn’t fall free from the tree. On October 21, 2003 Abu Farhan Azmi’s first leg with controversy occurred when he was caught and arrested by Dubai Police for allegedly smuggling, possessing and consuming drugs.

Dubai’s special anti-narcotics squad raided Farhan’s hotel suite in the city’s notorious Imperial Hotel- in which underworld dons Iqbal Mirchi and Dawood Ibrahim’s brother Anees have a stake and found charas. The Dubai police also found some cocaine and hashish in the rented car which was registered in the name of Abu Farhan Azmi. The narco kingpin Iqbal Mirchi, who is suspected of having Benami stakes in Imperial Hotel, also has a role to play in the narcotics house.

Following this, Abu Farhan Azmi started his various illegal eateries in Mumbai like Koyla, Café Basilico and Basilico House, among others in the city. He was later charged on the grounds of cheating, fraud, and illegal operations for his different restaurants and one of his restaurants, Koyla was also partially demolished by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

Recently, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Mumbai had summoned Abu Aslam Azmi, nephew of Abu Asim Azmi, in connection with a drug case. He was also previously summoned by the Goa unit of NCB and arrested by the Delhi Special Cell in connection with another narcotics case.

With SP leader Abu Asim Azmi, his son- Abu Farhan Azmi and nephew- Abu Aslam Azmi found in connection with drug abuse and underworld connection cases, the Azmi family is the perfect example of a corrupted Indian political family. Using money power and muscle, the family is free of criminal records and punishment. This just demonstrates the poor state of our Indian political system and criminal justice of our country.