February 4, 2003	Tuesday	Zul Hijjah 2,1423

MUMBAI, Feb 3: Six top aides of Indian-born underworld don Dawood Ibrahim have been detained by the Dubai police, a senior police official said here on Monday.

“The federal police are in talks with the police of United Arab Emirates. We are aware the six have been detained and being interrogated,” the official said.

He said of the six, two were implicated in the 1993 bomb blasts in Mumbai that killed nearly 300 people.

The two were Mohammad Dosa and Ezaz Pathan.

“We are told that Dawood’s brother Anees Ibrahim is also one of the six detained, but we have no confirmation,” the official added. A senior police official said: “The Central Bureau of Investigation is handling the case. But we are trying to confirm the news.”

Earlier on Monday one of the other accused in the 1993 bomb blast case, Mohammad Ismail, was shot by an unidentified assailant outside his residence, the police official added.

“I do not know whether there is connection between Ismail’s attack and the six arrests. But the two events can’t be ignored,” he added.—AFP