Dawood Ibrahim
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| Dawood Ibrahim | |
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 Dawood Ibrahim.
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| Born | December 31, 1955 Ratnagiri, Maharashtra India |
| Spouse | Zubeena Zareen (Mehajabeen) |
Dawood Ibrahim (also known as Dawood Ebrahim and Sheikh Dawood Hassan, birth name Sheikh Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar) was born in Ratnagiri, India as a son of police constable, was the former Don of the organized crime syndicate named D-Company in Mumbai, which operated as well as a notorious terrorist organisation, due to the gangs build-up of mostly young, male, Muslim already engaged in illegal activity.
He is accused of heading a vast, sprawling illegal empire, acquiring money and political clout. His name has become a byword in political, business and law enforcement circles in the manner of Al Capone and Osama Bin Laden. After the Bombay Blasts in 1993, which Ibrahim organized and financed, he became India's most wanted man. He is said to have moved from the UAE to Pakistan during the ensuing controversy. In 2003, the United States Government declared Dawood Ibrahim a "Global Terrorist" and pursued the matter before the United Nations in an attempt to freeze his assets around the world and crack down on his operations after significant diplomatic lobbying by the government of India. The Bush Administration, under advisement from the Indian Government, has imposed sanctions on Ibrahim[1]. Although Pakistan denies any knowledge of his existence, Interpol has provided a list of his Pakistani addresses and passport numbers [2].
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[edit] Background
Dawood Ibrahim, the son of a police constable Ibrahim Kaskar, was born in Ratnagiri in the Indian state of Maharashtra on December 31, 1955 [3]. He is said to have begun his career in Mumbai working for the Karim Lala gang, exploiting the bust in the Mumbai textiles industry to his advantage [4]. He soon shifted his residence to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and has businesses interests there, in India, and Pakistan. His career developed in the Persian Gulf states and in the bylanes of Nagpada and Dongri in Mumbai, India. His brother, Anees Ibrahim, and Chhota Shakeel are believed to be his key aides.
[edit] Involvement with Terrorism and Narcotics Trafficking
Ibrahim is widely believed to have masterminded the 1993 Mumbai Bombings on March 12 of the year, a series of terrorist attacks carried out in the city. He has absconded from India and is now believed to be hiding in Pakistan, which the Pakistani government denies.
In 2003, the Indian and United States governments declared Ibrahim a "Global Terrorist". The Deputy Prime Minister, L.K.Advani described it as a major development and that India stands "vindicated". Ibrahim is currently on India's "Most wanted List" [5].
The United States Department of Treasury has also designated Ibrahim as a terrorist as part of its international sanctions program — effectively forbidding U.S. financial entities from working with him and seizing assets believed to be under his control. The Department of Treasury keeps a fact sheet on Ibrahim which contains reports of his syndicate having smuggling routes from South Asia, the Middle-East and Africa shared with and used by terrorist organisation al-Qaeda. The fact sheet also said that Ibrahim's syndicate is involved in largescale shipment of narcotics in the United Kingdom and Western Europe. He is also believed to have contacts with al-Qaeda leader Osama bin-Laden. In the late 1990's, Ibrahim traveled in Afghanistan under theTaliban's protection. The syndicate has consistently aimed to destabilize the Indian government through riots, terrorism and civil disobedience.[6].
Washington added that they will request the United Nations to list Ibrahim "in pursuance of relevant Security Council resolutions". The UN listing will require that all UN member states freeze Ibrahim's assets and impose a travel ban. Juan Zarate, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes, said that they are committed to identifying and attacking financial ties between terrorism and the underworld [7].
He is also suspected to have connections with terrorist organisations such as Lashkar-e-Toiba. Recent information indicates that Ibrahim has been helping finance increasing attacks in Gujarat by Lashkar-e-Toiba.[8].New Delhi handed over to Islamabad a list of 38 most wanted criminals, including Ibrahim[9].
Dawood Ibrahim heads an organization known as the D-Company which carries out billions of dollars of operations in Mumbai alone, he is believed to control much of the 'hawala' system, which is the very commonly used unofficial system for transferring money and remittances outside the view of official agencies. Much of the organisation's operations are in India, allegedly with the support of Govt. of Pakistan and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
Dawood Ibrahim is currently one of India's most wanted in connection with the blasts in Mumbai. Dawood Ibrahim has been indicted in India for financially supporting Islamic terrorist groups.
In 2005, it was reported that Ibrahim's daughter married the son of legendary Pakistani cricketer, Javed Miandad. However, Ibrahim did not attend the ceremony in Dubai, which was closely monitored by intelligence agencies. The post wedding ceremony ( Valima ) was held in Karachi, Pakistan. None of the government officials attended the ceremony even though they were all invited by Javed Miandad.
In a major blow to Ibrahim, ten members of his gang were arrested by Mumbai Crime Branch on November 21, 2006. They were extradited from the United Arab Emirates, from where they had been deported[10].
[edit] Links with Pakistan
The Indian government accuses Pakistan for providing a safe place to Dawood Ibrahim. It also alleged that Dawood Ibrahim has close links with Pakistan's external intelligence agency, the ISI. According to a report published by R&AW, India's premier intelligence agency, Dawood's D-Company has played a crucial role in providing weapons and funds to various insurgents and militants in India. India's Intelligence Bureau has criticised the Pakistani government for using Dawood as a tool to destabilize Indian economy. Pakistan has never denied India's accusation that it is providing an asylum to Dawood.
- See also: Indo-Pakistani relations
[edit] Gang Wars
Sometime between 1990-1992,there was a rift between onetime close associates and aides Dawood Ibrahim and Chhota Rajan. This rift grew and both of them became sworn enemies. An outright Gang War started in the city of Mumbai. During this period, it was a common sight or news to hear that some rowdy or history sheeter has been found dead. Their enemity increased the anxiety of citizens as well. A competition of extortion, murder, smuggling, kidnapping took place between the two gangs. Any interference of matters by members of one gang with other would often result in bloody shoot-outs in the slums and docks of Mumbai. Reasons for rift have been many:
- Religious Reasons: Dawood was Muslim and Rajan was Hindu. This may have been one of the reasons though both men disagree with this reason as Dawood has a considerable number of Hindu mobsters in his gang, and Rajan has a similar number of Muslim mobsters in his gang.
- Financial Reasons: Dawood's gang members often enjoyed more royaltites than Rajan's members as a result of which both gangs grew wary of each other. Money sharing and dividing may also have been a reason
- Accidental Reasons: Many believe that there was a misunderstanding between the two gangsters which led to the split. Some also say the split was engineered by the police in order to track them quicker.
Apart from Rajan, Dawood is believed to be at odds with Abu Salem who, like Rajan, is also a former aide and with Arun Gawli. Though Abu Salem and Dawood were previously united after Dawood and Rajan split, it is believed that Abu Salem had a powerful music baron Gulshan Kumar killed without Dawood's permission and this caused them to split with each other. Arun Gawli's rivalry with Dawood has existed since the very beginning. Both these enemities have petered out as Abu Salem was arrested recently in Portugal and extradited back to India and Arun Gawli gave up his gangster life to become a politician.
[edit] The Dawood-Miandad Marriage
In July 2005 It was reported that Ibrahim was allegedly hiding in Pakistan, has further strengthened his Pakistani connection by getting his eldest daughter Mahruk Ibrahim engaged to Junaid Miandad, the eldest son of former legendary Pakistani cricket captain Javed Miandad. They tied the knot in Karachi in mid July 2005, followed by a reception in the Gulf emirate of Dubai of July 2005.
While identifying him as a resident of the port city of Karachi, the subsequent red corner alert notice issued by the International Police (Interpol) even gave his telephone and Pakistani passport numbers. Dubai, which used to be a safe haven for the don in the past, can no longer welcome him because the United Arab Emirates and India have signed an extradition treaty with several wanted men already being extradited including Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar's real brother, Iqbal Kaskar. Dawood has not visited Dubai after the 9/11 attacks in the United States.
According to Miandad's family circles, the marriage proposal was first mooted in December 2004 by Dawood's wife, Mehajabeen alias Zubeena Zareen, to the wife of the former ace batsman. The suggestion was welcomed and approved instantly and followed by a low profile engagement ceremony in Karachi, an event that was kept a quiet affair by both the families. Javed Miandad's family sources even expect the wedding ceremony to be a hush-hush one too, with not many guests being invited. When the engagement news surfaced in January 2005, Miandad had reacted angrily, saying he would make no comments on the matter. At that time he was reported to have said: "I don't understand why people interfere in our personal life. I don't interfere in anybody's life and expect them to respect our privacy also". Miandad maintained at the time he didn't want to discuss such personal matters at all. "Talk to me about cricket affairs, I am willing to talk. But I have always kept my family away from the spotlight and their privacy should be respected", he had stated.
However, when approached for comments six months later on June 20, 2005, Miandad admitted that the marriage was on the cards. "I have already made this thing public and it is no more a secret now. When it happens everyone would know about it. We Muslims believe that marriages are made in Heaven and we don't challenge destiny". To a question, Miandad said: "My wife and Dawood's wife are like sisters and his wife is in fact like my sister". To yet another query about his future daughter-in-law, the cricketer said his family members have chosen a well mannered, educated, religious girl like any other parent would do. But he denied that the wedding ceremony was likely to take place in Dubai secretly in July, saying there were no immediate plans for the wedding. "That is all rubbish, no date has been drawn up as yet and I would now request the press and people to let this matter rest and allow us to live in peace. When it happens it will not be a D-company", he added.
While Junaid Miandad is a student of Business Administration at Brunel University, London, his future wife, Mahrukh Ibrahim, is reportedly also based in London. The two first met in a dance bar, then in Dubai and finally in London, leading to their January 2005 engagement. The two families have been close for well over a decade now, especially after the D-Company boss had invested a huge chunk of his black money in the business and industrial ventures of the rich Sehgals of Karachi, who happen to be the in-laws of Javed Miandad. While the Sehgals strongly refute having been involved in any business deal with Dawood, there are those in the intelligence circles who insist the underworld don had invested his black money in the Sehgal's ventures, primarily to whiten the same. Dawood's underworld connects and business ventures are extensive, and he sublets his name in Pakistan, Thailand, South Africa, Indonesia, Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates, among other countries, to franchises in the fields of drug trafficking and gambling dens.
Ever since Dawood got involved in match-fixing over a decade ago, many of the Pakistani cricket players were on his pay rolls who earned huge sums of money. His interest in cricket apparently remains undiminished and after his glamorous appearances in Sharjah one-dayers when he had top Indian actors and actresses at his beck and call, Dawood now calls the shots in Pakistan. Backed by Dawood, Miandad was able to survive as captain of the Pakistan cricket team for a good period of time despite facing tough opposition from other players and his being named in several match-fixing scams. To recall, the judicial inquiry report into the betting and match-fixing allegations prepared by a committee headed by Justice Qayyum, had established a direct link between Dawood and many of the Pakistani players.
The inquiry report released in June 2001 carried details of a phone conversation between then skipper Wasim Akram and Dawood Ibrahim during the England-Pakistan match in Sharjah in year 2000. Former coach Javed Miandad - who was called to depose before the panel on why he quit the job abruptly before the World Cup after guiding the team to victory in Sharjah - said during Pakistan's second match against England, he got a call from someone (whom he did not want to name), who told him the game was fixed and that Shahid Afridi, Moin Khan, Azhar Mehmood, Salim Malik and Inzamam-ul Haq had taken money to throw the match. Miandad told the inquiry panel that he was so angry he forced Akram to talk to the man immediately. Akram, in his evidence before Qayyum, admitted he did talk to someone called Dawood Ibrahim on the phone and was told the match was fixed. Miandad asked Akram to make the players take an oath on the Koran, but Akram did not do so because it was not available at the ground. Miandad has deposed that he was furious at the team during the break as England, who were struggling at 40 for five wickets and had scored 206. He also said before he realised what was happening, five Pakistan batsmen were out and the team was bowled out for 144 runs in the 35th over.
[edit] Dawood Ibrahim in Popular Culture
D a film by Vishram Sawant, (Starring Randeep Hooda, Chunkey Pandey, Yashpal Sharma etc.) is loosely based on life of Dawood Ibrahim. Though the makers deny it.
Company starring Ajay Devgan as 'Malik' with Vivek Oberoi, Manisha Koirala, Seema Biswas and others has a very detailed plot on the internal rift between Dawood Ibrahim and Chota Rajan that led to subsequent gang wars in Mumbai and abroad.
