Met Dawood Ibrahim in London, he had offered to return: Indian lawyer

Published July 5, 2015
Maharashtra states former chief minister Sharad Pawar confirmed that his government has rejected Dawood Ibrahim's offer to surrender. — AFP/file
Maharashtra states former chief minister Sharad Pawar confirmed that his government has rejected Dawood Ibrahim's offer to surrender. — AFP/file

A senior lawyer of India's Supreme Court Ram Jethmalani has claimed to have met Dawood Ibrahim in London, where the fugitive underworld don offered to surrender himself and his close associate Chota Shakeel before Indian authorities.

In an interview to the ANI news agency published on Zee News channel's website, the senior lawyer said the proposal was rejected by the Sharad Pawar-led Maharashtra state government. He added that it was not the chief minister's decision alone, but the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government was also a part of it.

Giving details of his meeting with Dawood Ibrahim, Jethmalani said that the underworld don had denied involvement in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts and wanted assurance from Indian authorities that upon his return he will not be subjected to third-degree torture by the police while in detention.

Read: Modi says if he becomes PM he will hunt Dawood

The former law minister also said that the underworld don was ready to return to India and be placed under house arrest during the trial, as he feared he would be assassinated in jail.

In a Press Trust on Indian interview published on the NDTV website, Saharad Pawar, who was the chief minister of Maharashtra state in 1990s when the offer was made, said that, "It is true that Ram Jethmalani had given a proposal about Dawood's willingness to return. But there was a condition that Dawood should not be kept in jail. Rather he should be allowed to remain in a house. This was not acceptable. We said he had to face the law."

India has routinely accused Pakistan of providing shelter to one of India’s most wanted fugitive.

Pakistan denies Indian charges that it shelters Dawood Ibrahim — one of India's most wanted men — ever since the don became a fugitive for his alleged role in the serial bomb blasts that hit Mumbai in 1993 in apparent retaliation for the demolition of the Babri Masjid in December 1992. Over 250 people were killed in the attacks.

Also read: Dawood Ibrahim not seen at daughter’s wedding

Ibrahim stands convicted in absentia in India for the blasts, together with several Mumbai accomplices.

In a reply submitted to the Indian Parliament recently in May, India's Home Ministry had said that the government had no clue about the whereabouts of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.

Pakistan’s High Commissioner in India Abdul Basit had termed the admission as vindication of Pakistan's stance over the issue.

A few days later Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh had said in the Lok Sabha that India had evidence of Dawood Ibrahim’s presence in Pakistan, and would bring him back “no matter what”.

Opinion

Editorial

Maintaining balance
Updated 16 Feb, 2025

Maintaining balance

It must take a more proactive approach to establishing Pakistan’s bona fides.
Welcome return
16 Feb, 2025

Welcome return

IT is almost here; the moment Pakistan has long been waiting for — the first International Cricket Council...
Childhood trauma
16 Feb, 2025

Childhood trauma

BEING a child in this society should not be so hard. But recurrent reports of child abuse — from burying girl...
The Peca problem
Updated 15 Feb, 2025

The Peca problem

The fight for fundamental freedoms is not the media’s alone, but one that concerns every citizen.
Miners in danger
15 Feb, 2025

Miners in danger

YESTERDAY’S devastating terrorist attack in Harnai, which killed at least 11 coal miners and injured seven others,...
Solar panels scam
15 Feb, 2025

Solar panels scam

THE scam involving over-invoicing to the tune of more than Rs69bn in the import of solar panels raises many ...