Dawood Ibrahim has been in the news for a few hours now. Read to know who is Dawood Ibrahim and what are the five cases that prove he is India’s most wanted terrorist.

New Delhi: Dawood Ibrahim is an underworld don who is India’s Most Wanted Terrorist as he was the mastermind of the 1993 Mumbai Bombings. The underworld don is in the news as he has been hospitalised in Karachi, Pakistan after alleged poisoning by ‘unknown men’. These reports have not been confirmed and now, new reports suggest that Dawood has passed away due to the poisoning. Know who is Dawood Ibrahim and what are the five major cases that prove that Dawood is India’s most wanted terrorist..

Who Is Dawood Ibrahim?

Dawood Ibrahim was born in Khed, Maharashtra in India on December 26, 1955 to a Konkani Muslim family. His father Ibrahim Kaskar worked as a head constable for Mumbai Plice and his mother, Amina Bi was a homemaker. Dawood’s introduction to fraud, theft and robbery started when he was in his teens and then eventually he joined local gangster and don Baashu Dada. With his elder brother Shabir Ibrahim Kaskar, Dawood formed his own gang in late 1970s and the gang is known as D-Company. In the following years, he expanded his gang with the help of Chhota Rajan and was named by Indian government as one of the masterminds of the horrific 1993 Mumbai Bombings. After the attacks, he fled to Karachi from Dubai and has been living there till date.

5 Cases That Prove Dawood Is ‘India’s Most Wanted Terrorist’

Mumbai Blasts, 1993

The first and the most important terrorist activity in India, involving Dawood Ibrahim, are the 1993 Mumbai Blasts where the death toll was 257 and more than 700 people were injured. It is alleged that Dawood executed these blasts with his associated and the Pakistan-based terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). The blasts took place at 12 locations in the Maharashtra capital including Shiva Sena Headquarters and Bombay Stock Exchange. Dawood Ibrahim is said to have fled to Dubai and then to Karachi, Pakistan post the blasts.

26/11 Mumbai Attacks, 2008

It is also suspected that Dawood Ibrahim played a key role in the horrific 26/11 Mumbai Attacks in 2008 which injured more than 300 people and 166 lost their lives. Carried out by ten terrorists, multiple major locations of the city, namely, Taj Mahal Hotel, Oberoi Trident Hotel, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and Nariman House were attacked. Some reports suggest that Dawood provided financial and logistical support to the attackers and helped them in escaping Mumbai.

Pune German Bakery Blast, 2010

India’s most wanted terrorist is also ‘wanted’ in connection with the Pune German Bakery Blast that took place in 2010, killing 17 people and injuring over 60. With a bomb planted in a backpack triggered by a mobile phone, the blast happened at the German Bakery in Koregaon Park, Pune. Indian Mujahideen, a terror outfit allegedly linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba and Dawood Ibrahim had claimed responsibility. According to media reports, Dawood had provided the mobile phone used for the blast along with the explosives and facilitation of escape of the bomber.

IPL Spot-Fixing Scandal

Apart from criminal and terrorist activities, Dawood Ibrahim is also accused of involvement in the IPL Spot-Fixing Scandal of 2013 where certain parts of different matches were fixed by players of Rajasthan Royals, Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians. It is said that the bookies and fixers players were in contact with, were working for Dawood Ibrahim and his associate, Chhota Shakeel; these two allegedly controlled the betting racket and threatened and blackmailed players and team owners for cooperation in the scam.

Murders In India

Speaking of murders, Dawood Ibrahim is allegedly involved in the murder of Gulshan Kumar who was killed in 1997 by Dawood’s hitmen because reportedly, he refused to pay the extortion money. In 2000, shoe baron Parikshirt Thakkar was kidnapped and murdered by Dawood Ibrahim’s gang for not paying ransom money. In 2006, BJP leader Pramod Mahajan was killed allegedly by Pravin Mahajan, an aide of Dawood Ibrahim. Jyotirmoy Dey, a crime journalist, was murdered in 2011 and reports say that Dey was killed by the henchmen of Dawood Ibrahim as Jyotirmoy Dey wrote about his illegal activities.