Bring home the rogues

Mukesh Ranjan in New Delhi

• July 27, 2017: India informs the UAE ministry of interior’s director general of security affairs via Interpol about the extradition of the fugitive Farooq Takla, a close aide of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. 
• August 8, 2017: The CBI gets non-bailable warrant issued from TADA court in Mumbai against Takla. It was sent to the UAE along with red corner notice issued by the Interpol in Lyons (France). 
• August 22, 2017: India makes a formal extradition request to the UAE.
• March 9, 2018: The CBI arrests Takla for his role in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, when he lands in New Delhi from Dubai.

Takla’s arrest has emboldened security and intelligence agencies. They say the arrest was facilitated through sustained government efforts to forge security alliances with Gulf countries. However, Dawood, who is said to enjoy considerable clout in the UAE Royal circles, swung into action: Takla’s Pakistani passport was given to the UAE authorities, which meant he was a Pakistani national. The UAE then reportedly became hesitant to hand over Takla to Indian authorities. But then Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tour of Abu Dhabi from Jordan on the second leg of his three-nation tour in Feb 2018 turned the tide. He was received by Mohammed bin Zayed and other members of the Royal family at the airport. It is said that he and his team held wide-ranging talks with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi over the Indian fugitives, including Takla.

Senior officials of the internal and external intelligence agencies say New Delhi has further strengthened its relations with the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. The ties now cover many agreements ranging from energy, trade, and investment to counterterrorism and defence cooperation. “Pakistan is in perpetual state of denial. Most of the terror accused fugitives have safe havens there and are having business network spread across West Asian and Gulf countries. Our strategy is to confine them to Pakistan. We systematically develop security and strategic cooperation with West Asian countries. If such elements travel out for their business interest, chances of them getting back to India brighten,” says a senior intelligence official.

“Though we have been building relations for the past two decades, we have brought in a new change of de-coupling nations in our approach towards them. That is paying good dividends. The cases in point are Iran-Iraq and Israel-Palestine,” says a senior Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) official, who deals with issues relating to security alliances with countries in tandem with Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). 

Officials in the government claim that of late India has further streamlined the anti-terror international co-operations with the help of the United Nations. “But this could happen only after the Western nations realized and accepted terrorism as a real threat with the rise of ISIS and acts of violence in their countries,” said an official. He said India is now co-operating with other countries at three levels: police-to-police, judicial and government-to-government. 

Here are the top proclaimed absconders:

Dawood Ibrahim 
Mumbai serial blasts (1993)

He is the top wanted fugitive. Born to a constable of Maharashtra police, he has been involved in many jehadi activities as a key financier. He is also supposedly associated with Al Qaeda as well as Lashkar-e-Toiba. His crimes include forging Indian currency and supplying drugs through a highly organized network known as D-company. He is also into contract killing in India, Pakistan and the UAE. Indian Intelligence sources say he has been hiding in Karachi.

Hafiz Muhammad Saeed 
Mumbai attack (2008)/Parliament attack (2001)

He is the founder and chief of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and Jamaat-ud-Dawa. He is also the key man behind train bombings in Mumbai in 2006. He is a very provocative speaker and holds rallies and speaks freely against India and the US in Pakistan. Intelligence sources say he lives in a house in Lohare, Pakistan, and is guarded by Pakistani police and Saeed’s own supporters.

Sayeed Salahudeen 
Attacks in J&K/Delhi High Court blast (2011)

He is the head of the terrorist group Hizbul-Mujahideen. Eleven people were killed and 76 were injured in the Delhi High Court attack in 2011. One of the accused who was arrested confessed that Salahudeen himself gave direction for the attack. He is also responsible for many of the terrorist attacks in J&K and has close links to the Pakistani spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence. Salahudeen also runs United Jihad Council (UJC), which is said to have strong connections with Al Qaeda. He is believed to be somewhere in Pakistan. 

Maulana Masood Azhar 
Kandahar hijack (1999)/Parliament attack (2001)

He came into limelight in the December 1999 during the hijack of Indian Airlines flight IC814. He was one of the three terrorists, who were released in exchange for the hostages. He founded the militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad in the year 2000. He and his organization are also accused of mass killings in Kashmir. 

Ilyas Kashmiri 
Mumbai attack 26/11

He is a senior commander of Al Qaeda and heads Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islami (HuJI). He is responsible for many terrorists attacks, some of which includes German Bakery blasts at Pune and an attack on the American centre in Kolkata. The HuJI is also responsible for the attacks in Ahmedabad, Delhi, Jaipur and Bangalore in 2008 and the Mumbai attack of 26/11. He came into focus when he said that 26/11 was his plot, which was hijacked by the ISI to support Lashkar. He is reportedly hiding somewhere near Pak-Afghan border.

Sajid Mir 
Mumbai attack 26/11

Sajid Majid aka Sajid Mir is the commander of Lashkar-e-Toiba. He was supposedly the project head for the 26/11 attack. He along with David Coleman Headley conducted surveys on Mumbai before the attack. It is said that Mir travelled to India many times before the attack as a cricket fan in 2005. During the attack, it was Mir who was directing the execution of hostages though an internet phone line from a safe house in Karachi, where he is reportedly holed up in a safe house. 

Chhota Shakeel 
Mumbai serial blasts (1993)

Also known as ‘the right hand of Dawood,’ Chhota Shakeel is a key member of the ‘D’ company. He is an accused in the Mumbai serial blasts in 1993 and is one of the most wanted criminals in India. He was also responsible for the attack on Chhota Rajan, former aide of Dawood in 2001 in Bangkok. Chhota Shakeel is believed to have a huge network in Bollywood. He is believed to have fled to Saudi Arabia from Pakistan after the assassination of Osama bin Laden.

Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi 
Mumbai attack 26/11

A founding member of Lashkar-e-Toiba and currently the head of operations in Kashmir, Lakhvi is responsible for the Mumbai attack of 26/11. It is believed that he personally saw training and recruitment process. He is in custody of Pakistani authorities.

Anis Ibrahim 
Mumbai serial blasts (1993)

He is the younger brother of Dawood. He is a co accused in all the crimes allegedly committed by Dawood. According to intelligence sources, he lives in Pakistan and is handling most of the activities in the Gulf region.

(L-R) Dawood Ibrahim, Syeed Salahudeen, Hafiz Muhammad Saeed,Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and Maulana Masood Azhar