Dawood Ibrahim, the underworld don who used to extort crores of rupees from businessmen, builders and filmstars as protection money, is paying a similar amount for his own protection. Dawood has started heavily funding fundamentalist religious groups in Pakistan with a condition that in case the authorities decide to deport him to India, the religious groups should ensure his safety.
Looking at the way fundamentalist Islamic religious groups protected Hafiz Saeed, the alleged mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, Dawood too has decided to seek refuge with such groups in Pakistan to ensure his safety.
This was revealed to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials by Feroz Abdul Rashid Khan. An accused in the 1993 serial bomb blasts in Mumbai, Khan was arrested by the crime branch earlier this week and handed over to the CBI for further investigation.
“With international pressure mounting on Pakistan to accept that the fugitive don is holed up on its soil, Dawood fears that soon the Pakistan government will be forced to deport him,” said a CBI officer. To pre-empt this, Dawood has started funding a lot of religious organisations in Pakistan, added the officer. “According to information available, Dawood has already given a huge amount of money to these religious organisations,” the officer said.
According to Khan’s revelation, Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, a Sunni militant organisation, Jamaat-i-Islami and Jamaat-ud-Dawa are some of the organisationsfunded by Dawood.
During interrogation, Khan has reportedly told the police that Dawood regularly visits terror camps situated in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK). “Khan’s statement also clearly indicates that Dawood is very much in Pakistan, contradicting their claims,” the official said.
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