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Dawood is in Pakistan, India will leave no stone unturned to bring him back, says Rajnath

By FnF Correspondent | PUBLISHED: 11, May 2015, 15:33 pm IST | UPDATED: 11, May 2015, 16:23 pm IST

Dawood is in Pakistan, India will leave no stone unturned to bring him back, says Rajnath

New Delhi: Union home minister Rajnath Singh said on Monday the Indian government had provided "relevant documents" on gangster Dawood Ibrahim to Pakistan, but Islamabad had failed to start the process to track him down.

Singh informed the House that India had credible information of Dawood being in the neighbour country, days after the government was left red-faced after it informed Parliament Dawood was not in Pakistan.

"We will pursue and pressurise Pakistan in tracking Dawood, India will leave no stone unturned to bring him back," Singh said, as he clarified on the government's stand on the issue in the face of an onslaught by the opposition.

"We will get Dawood Ibrahim no matter what, we are sure of that," he said.

Noting that a red-corner notice issued by Interpol had been pending against Dawood since 1996 and a UN Security Council's special notice against him was also pending since 2006, the home minister said Pakistan was bound by international obligations to locate and extradite him.

Dawood was accused of involvement in the 1993 Mumbai bomb attacks that killed 257 people and injured hundreds more. The Interpol has issued a Red Corner notice against him and he has been sanctioned by the US and UN.

Last December, after reports suggested that a Western intelligence agency had traced Dawood to the port city of Karachi by intercepting his phone calls, home minister Singh said New Delhi had asked Islamabad to hand him over.

Minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju, too, said the reported intercepts would strengthen India's stand.

But, a controversy broke out after minister of state for home Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary recently told Lok Sabha that extradition proceedings could be initiated only when Dawood was located. Opposition parties took a dig at the government on the issue.

Congress leader Sashi Tharoor said, "There is no doubt that Dawood has been in Pakistan. The UPA government even gave his address to Pakistan’s government."

Reacting to the controversy over Dawood's whereabouts, he added, "Rajnathji has given a clear statement... all his ministers should follow it."