CBI to seek Aftab Bhakti extradition

After failing to secure the deportation of detained D-company associate and ‘king of counterfeiters’, Aftab Bhakti, the CBI is set...

After failing to secure the deportation of detained D-company associate and ‘king of counterfeiters’, Aftab Bhakti, the CBI is set to move court for his extradition from the United Arab Emirates.

The government has reportedly given a green signal to the CBI to file an application for Bhakti’s extradition in a local court in Dubai.

Don Aftab Bhakti, whose speciality is printing fake Rs 500 notes, is said to be a close associate of fugitive don Dawood Ibrahim. He was detained by Dubai police last February along with a dozen gangsters, including Anees Ibrahim

who is wanted in India. Charges of sedition, conspiracy and counterfeiting have been levelled against Bhakti, who is on the list of wanted handed over by New Delhi to UAE the same month.

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Bhakti’s counterfeit notes racket is run in Dubai and Pakistan, sources said. Intelligence reports indicate he has been behind almost every landing of counterfeit notes in India for years. He is also one of the main conduits for the D-Company. The fake currency is used to fund underworld operations in Mumbai and Gujarat, sources said. Bhatki is also considered one of the main suppliers of women ‘operatives’ and sex workers for gangsters in Dubai and Pakistan. Mumbai Police believe he is linked to the Pakistani ISI.

Though India and the UAE signed an extradition treaty in May 2000, relations between the two strained after Dubai played spoilsport in releasing Anees Ibrahim in 2002.