With Narendra Modi all set to become the prime minister, the heat seems to be back on the D- Company. According to a report in a daily Dawood Ibrahim, has reposition himself to an unknown location close to the Afghanistan-Pak border, which is under the Taliban. His base has been in Karachi.
In the course of his poll campaign, Modi had told a Gujarati news channel that he would bring Dawood to India from Pakistan if he comes to power. Now that Modi is in power, the general expectation of the intelligence community is that he will tighten the screws on Dawood.
Reacting sharply to then Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde’s comment to the media that the government was working closely with the FBI to bring back fugitive underworld key player, Modi had said the issue was not a matter to be discussed openly.
“Did the US hold a press conference before carrying out the Abbottabad raid?” he had said, referring to the killing of Osama bin Laden by the US forces.
The don feared a commando- type operation and is believed to have shifted his base to a remote corner.
He has also got the ISI to strengthen his security, it added.
The report quoted an intelligence report as saying, “With Modi coming to power, he is mortally afraid.” Sushilkumar Shinde, home minister in the UPA government, had only talked about bringing Dawood back to India and had maintained that the government was in touch with the FBI for it. But RK Singh, who was the then Union home secretary and is at present with BJP, had pooh-poohed Shinde’s claim. Singh too is known to be keen on targeting Dawood and is expected to help the new government in it.
Incidentally, a few months ago, Dawood’s chief lieutenant Chhota Shakeel had told dna: “Dawoodbhai koyi halwa nahin hai ke usko uthake koi bhi le jaa sakta hai. (Dawood is not a piece of halwa that anyone can take him away).”
The underworld kingpin is believed to live in Karachi.
In an exclusive interview to a newspaper, escapee gangster Chhota Rajan had said Dawood lived in the Gulf region nowadays, contrary to what Indian Intelligence believes.