NEW DELHI, Jan 10: India’s most wanted terrorist Dawood Ibrahim is in Pakistan and joint efforts with the US were being made to nab him, Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said today.
“As per our information, Dawood is in Pakistan. When I went to America last year to discuss inland security, I met the Attorney General who looks after the FBI.
“I talked to him and we decided that we will pass whatever information we have on Dawood amongst each other. We decided we will make joint efforts,” Shinde said when asked about the whereabouts of Dawood who is wanted in a number of cases by Indian agencies including the 1993 Mumbai blasts.
The minister was addressing his monthly press conference here.
The Home Minister, on the same question about Dawood last year, had said all such wanted elements will be brought back “one by one”.
“All will come. Just wait,” he had said.
Dawood, who heads a vast and multifaceted illegal business, has emerged as India’s most wanted terrorist after the 1993 Mumbai bombings, which he allegedly organised and financed.
An INTERPOL red corner notice is still pending against him.
According to the US, Dawood maintains close links with terror outfit Al-Qaeda. As a result, the US declared him a “global terrorist” and pursued the matter before the United Nations in an attempt to freeze his assets across the world and crack down on his operations.
During the tenure of Shinde as Home Minister, security agencies successfully brought back several wanted terrorists including Sayed Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal, key plotter of Mumbai attack terrorists Fasih Mahmood aka Fasih Mohammed, Abdul Karim Tunda and Yasin Bhatkal.
Shinde became the Home Minister on July 31, 2012.
The NIA probe into the circumstances leading to the arrest of alleged Hizbul Mujahideen militant Liaqat Shah is still on, Shinde said.
Without elaborating further on the case, Shinde said any decision on the role of officials of Delhi Police or security agencies in the matter could only be taken once the probe was completed.
National Investigation Agency (NIA) is probing the circumstances leading to the arrest of Shah, who was nabbed while returning from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) last year as per the surrender policy of Jammu and Kashmir Government.
Talking about the security situation in J&K, Shinde said that Indian forces had killed more infiltrators this winter as compared to the last.
“We have alerted local police and central paramilitary forces in this regard,” he said, adding that the infiltration this winter in the area had come down as compared to the last.
Replying to a separate question during the Minister’s monthly press conference here, Home Secretary Anil Goswami said that a “detailed investigation” was underway into the role of senior Delhi Police officers during the December 16, 2012, gangrape case in Delhi.
“We will soon be giving a report in this regard to the Home Minister,” Goswami said.
The Centre will ask all State Governments to set up review or screening committees to assess role of minority youths languishing in jails on terror charges without trial.
Shinde said he will again write to the Chief Ministers this time asking them to set up screening or advisory committees on the lines of Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) to review cases of minority youths languishing in jails.
“I am again writing to all Chief Ministers saying we will appoint a screening or advisory committee like in the case of POTA. These will be state-level committees,” he said in reply to questions after presenting his report of Ministry for December.
Shinde said that he had earlier asked all Chief Ministers to ensure that no innocent minority youth is wrongfully detained in the name of terror.
“I had written to all Chief Ministers to be careful while arresting youth of minority community. That I said in my earlier letter and it was not one community but all those who are concerned.
The Government will push its six anti-graft framework bills during the short Parliament session next month fulfilling the agenda set by Rahul Gandhi.
Shinde said the bills would be pushed when Parliament meets next month to pass vote on account.
“Rahuljee Gandhi”, as Shinde referred to the Congress Vice President, “has been working for passage of these bills and it was only to fulfil the promises made to the people rather than scoring any political points”.
He said the decision was taken at the Core Group meeting of the Congress party held earlier in the day.
The Bills likely to be pushed during the session are the Public Procurement Bill, the Prevention of Corruption Act (Amendment) Bill, the Prevention of Bribery of Foreign Public Officials and Officials of Public International Organisations Bill, Electronic Delivery of Services Bill, The Right of Citizens for Time-bound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of their Grievances Bill and the Whistleblowers Protection Bill.
To a question as to whom did Congress find as bigger challenge — Narendra Modi or Arvind Kejriwal, Shinde said “none” and elaborated further that Congress had weathered many storms during its 128-year-long history.
“We were ruled out of power in 2004 as we had just faced defeat in six states. However, we came to power and continue till date,” he said and also referred to the anti-Congress wave of 1977 which lasted only three years till Indira Gandhi returned to power in 1980.
Asked whether the AICC session on January 17 was to announce Rahul as Prime Ministerial candidate, Shinde said the party is of the view that he is a natural choice for the post. “We have always been saying this that we need him and so does the country,” he said.
Shinde said a security cover is being provided to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal without his knowledge and despite his repeated rejection for it.
This was being done as it was the “duty” of the Government and the Home Ministry to take care of the security requirements and protection of VVIPs and others based on threat perception, he said.
“It is the duty of any State Government and the Centre to protect such VVIPs. When he (Kejriwal) was elected as the Chief Minister he was immediately provided with security. We are now giving him security cover without his knowledge,” the Home Minister told reporters here during his monthly press conference.
Shinde said the security agencies have thrice asked Kejriwal to take security and he has refused twice.
He said the task of ensuring security to Kejriwal is being carried out by the Delhi Police even as the Police Commissioner of Delhi has talked to the SP of Ghaziabad to take care of security requirements in his area as the CM lives there and also the office of Aam Admi Party is located in the neighbouring district.
“Recently there was an attack on AAP office in Ghaziabad…. We have asked the local police that if not directly they can post their men in the vicinity of these locations,” Shinde said.
The Home Minister agreed with the view that the common man has to face difficulty when traffic is held up for VIP movements but he said he has asked the police to make sure that regular movement is resumed as soon as possible.
To a question on the increase in the number of vehicles in the Home Minister’s security apparatus, Union Home Secretary Anil Goswami, who was present at the press conference, said it has been done on the basis of threat perception.
Goswami said new vehicles (Tata Safaris) were included based on security requirements and threat perception to the Home Minister. As the SUVs were not immediately available off-the-shelf, they were included in his cavalcade recently, he said.
Shinde said he has never taken security in his political career of 40 years and even during his stint as the Union Power Minister, he only had one personal security officer (PSO).
“I am a Home Minister who remians with the ‘janta’. But due to some action and activities in the Home Ministry, my security is like this,” he said, hinting at the execution of terrorists like Afzal Guru and Ajmal Kasab and arrest of some terror masterminds since he took over in July 2012.
Shinde said that based on the inputs received on security “risk” to Gujarat Chief Minister Narenda Modi and BJP leader L K Advani, they have been given appropriate security cover.
He also said the Home Ministry will examine the issue of security arrangement if the AAP-led Delhi Government decides to hold a Delhi Assembly session in Ramlila Maidan.
“I have not heard something like this before but we will see when it comes to us,” he said. (PTI)
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