MUMBAI, June 13 -- A special MCOCA court has granted bail to Salim Maharaj, an alleged aide of gangster Ejaz Lakdawala, in a 2011 firing and extortion case registered by the Mumbai crime branch. The court noted that there were no direct threats or extortion by Maharaj, or any material to show that he was connected to Lakdawala. Maharaj was arrested in October 2020 based on an alleged confessional statement made by Lakdawala. As per the prosecution, Maharaj allegedly provided information to Lakdawala, who then extorted Rs.50 lakh from a company. Advocate Wasim Prandarwala, representing Maharaj, argued that he was falsely implicated and there is no possibility of tampering with the investigation since it has been already completed. The court observed that Lakdawala and Maharaj were not in contact with each other when the crime took place in 2011 and none of the witnesses deposed a single word against Maharaj. It said that Lakdawala retracted his confession statement saying that the police had forced him to confess by detaining his daughter illegally. After hearing both the sides, special sessions judge Chakor S Baviskar in an order passed on June 5 said that there was nothing to connect Maharaj with the offences....