Dawood ill, but alive

India’s most wanted fugitive and prime accused in the 1993 Mumbai blast case, Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar, who was reported to have passed away earlier this week, is alive, although he continues to be unwell.

Sources tracking the movement of the 62-year-old Ibrahim said that he has been suffering from multiple disorders, including heart problems, due to which his movement has been significantly curtailed as he continues to live in Karachi under the watchful eye of his personal guards and sleuths of the ISI.

Sources in the intelligence agencies, while speaking to The Sunday Guardian, said that most of Ibrahim’s businesses were now being handled by Anis, and Dawood was confined to the role of a guardian. “It is unlikely that we will ever arrest him and the chance of him being deported to India is even more remote. Dawood is living a retired life now and he has, like every other criminal, moved into other legitimate businesses like construction, funding of various projects through shell companies, apart from money laundering, which is one of his biggest sources of revenue. His health has deteriorated considerably in the last few years,” a source said.

Sources said that whenever Dawood dies, the news will not be confirmed immediately as secrecy surrounds his presence in Pakistan. “His presence in Pakistan is a closely guarded secret and Pakistan will not want to expose itself internationally, by accepting that a fugitive of his stature was staying in Pakistan. We believe that his ‘passing away’ will not happen in Pakistan, whenever it happens,” the source added.