Mumbai: There is talk of a second strike on Pakistan and the dismantling of the terror network in that country. However, the intelligence community here says the government should first order a frontal attack on the Dawood Ibrahim gang which is fronting for Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) in Mumbai.
Even though the gang is not indulging in violent crime in Mumbai as in the past, its network in the metropolis is very much intact, sources in the police said. The recent effort by the gang to extort Rs 10 cr from ex-MLA Zeeshan Siddique shows that it is back to its old ways.
Siddique's father Baba Siddique was gunned down allegedly by the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, but the role of a big builder who is known for his close proximity to Dawood himself, is also suspected in the sensational killing. But this builder was not even called for questioning.
D Company has major stakes in the burgeoning real estate industry, share market, commodities and bullion trading apart from illicit activities like drug smuggling. It is learnt that security agencies have on their record a telephonic conversation between a big builder, who is a front man for Dawood, and a Lashkar-e-Tayyaba leader based out of Muridke in Pakistan.
Yet no action has been taken against him. In fact, this builder has turned around and is known to bad mouth a senior Intelligence Bureau official. Sources said the consignment of over 300 kgs of methamphetamine seized off the coast of Gujarat was dispatched by the gang from Karachi. Dawood, who works for the ISI, is on first name terms with the who's who of the ISI who are into international drug smuggling.
Some of the top drug syndicates based in the U.K. and U.S. like Jabir Motiwala and Mohd Asif Hafeez were working for the Dawood-ISI nexus. Jabir's close associates are known to be active in Mumbai. Kailash Rajput, the elusive king of drugs, and Vicky Goswami are also known to be a part of D gang which has turnover of millions of dollars in drug trade spread across the U.S., Europe and South East Asia.
Sources said for the past several years a plan to neutralise Dawood and his empire has been gathering dust in the Union home ministry. ``We are tired waiting for the green signal from the North Block," a senior police official observed.
With the Central government now talking tough vis-a-vis Islamabad, it is hoped by security agencies that they will get the clearance to go all out to dismantle Dawood's empire in Mumbai, for starters.
