Now, Dawood picking up phone, getting things done

For the second time, in the ongoing investigations into spot-fixing case, underworld don and global terrorist Dawood Ibrahim’s name has cropped up as being directly involved in the syndicate. Is this an indication that Dawood, who has not involved himself directly in any crime for the past 19 years, has become active again? Or, is the spot-fixing syndicate so big and powerful that he himself needs to get involved?

Top bookie Ramesh Vyas, who was first arrested by the Mumbai crime branch and is currently in the custody of the Delhi special cell, has told the investigators that Dawood had himself called him up on a few occasions to resolve disputes. This is the second time, police have got strong evidence of Dawood being personally involved in the scam.

Earlier, the special cell had tapped telephone conversations of Dawood and his close aide Javed Chuttani alias Doctor, the call records and the voice samples were later certified as being genuine by India’s premier external intelligence agency – the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW). Following R&AW’s certification, the special cell had invoked the stringent MCOCA against cricketer S Sreesanth and others.

According to sources, Vyas has reportedly told investigators that Dawood used to personally call him whenever any dispute arose and resolve it. Sources further informed that, Vyas in his statement said that Dawood would himself call from a phone number *****64488. “Vyas in his statement said that Dawood has this unmistakable voice with a thick baritone,” the source said.

“Javed alias Doctor had confirmed to Vyas that the number belongs to Dawood and it is he who was personally calling,” the source said.

Vyas has reportedly confessed that whenever Dawood himself or his close aide Chhota Shakeel personally called, he would settle the matter exactly the way they wanted it, because he didn’t want to anger them.

According to a senior Mumbai crime branch official, after the 1993 serial bomb blasts in Mumbai, and especially after the US declared him as a global terrorist in 2002, Dawood has stopped getting directly involved in any crime.“Due to fear that various agencies may tap him and track him, Dawood has stopped using any forms of communications and is known to use only word-of-mouth communication in all matters,” the officer said.

Sources in Mumbai underworld said that Dawood involves himself personally only in matters which are worth several hundred crores. “His (Dawood) name is only enough to get all the work done, it has been ages since people have heard his voice,” a source said.

The revelation that Dawood himself has got directly involved in the spot-fixing scam has surprised the police as well as the underworld equally. “It only means that the stakes are so high in the spot-fixing syndicate that Dawood had to personally involve himself,” said senior crime branch officer.

The officer, however, said that there is no need to be alarmed about the development, cause even if Dawood is active again, he does not have the man-power on the ground in Mumbai to revive his gang. “After all his gang members were eliminated and the underworld was finished by the police in Mumbai, Dawood had started concentrating on activities like real estate, betting syndicate, drugs and arms smuggling and terrorism.

Currently, there is zero presence of underworld and its activities in Mumbai,” the officer said.