Now, Dawood has a mystery passport

NEW DELHI: The Indian security establishment has been baffled by the ease with which gangster Dawood Ibrahim, prime accused in the 1993 Mumbai blasts, has been travelling across the globe. Of late, he has been to Africa and to the Gulf, especially Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain.

According to sources, Sheikh Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar has a new passport from a third country. Officials refused to say which country has issued the passport. But they said they are working with that country to see how he obtained it.

Until now, Dawood, who has been declared an international terrorist by the US and an associate of al-Qaeda by the UN, was known to possess three passports: one from India and two from Pakistan. One Pakistani passport was issued in Karachi (KC 285901) and the other in Islamabad (H-144394). Dawood had an Indian passport (A-333602) issued when he was living in Mumbai.

Dawood has business interests in the Gulf, where he has invested in supermarkets and construction, and in eastern Africa, in mining. Some reports say he has business interests in Australia, too.

At a time when Indian agencies have information that Pakistan is pressing Dawood to leave, the new passport has complicated matters. Recently, Indian intelligence had information that the gangster suffered a heart attack while in Islamabad.