UAE now has official list of India’s wanted

The list was handed over by Ranjit Mitter, joint secretary (in-charge of Gulf), to the Emirates government when External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha stopped over at Abu Dhabi while on his way to Tajikistan.

Mitter handed over the list a day after CBI DIG (dealing with Interpol) Arun Gupta gave detailed dossiers, including red-corner notices, on all these criminals to his Dubai interlocuter as well as the Interpol office in Abu Dhabi.

Gupta flew to Dubai around January 27 to secure deportation of Mohammed Altaf and Imram Rehman Khan, key accused in the Ghatkopar blasts.

While the Government is silent on the Dubai list, it is understood that names of Dawood Ibrahim, his two brothers, D-Company key lieutenants Aftab Bhatki, Ejaz Pathan, Mohammed Dossa and Anees Ibrahim and ganglord Iqbal Mirchi figure in the document.

Sources say that apart from Anees, Mirchi and Ibrahim, who President General Musharraf says does not live in Karachi, the rest of the criminals are reportedly now in the Dubai dragnet.

The Government decision to hand over the list to Dubai came after the Anees Ibrahim fiasco and subsequent efforts initiated by the Ministry of External Affairs. It is learnt that the Atal Behari Vajpayee Government was extremely upset over the handling of the Anees Ibrahim case at the Dubai end and Sinha even sought a detailed report from the Gulf division on the fiasco.

Anees Ibrahim’s arrest in Dubai had been confirmed by UAE Interpol to Delhi on December 10, 2002 but the criminal managed to slip through the dragnet using his clout.

Apparently, India could not mount any significant pressure on Dubai at that time since its ambassador to UAE, K C Singh, was on leave when Ibrahim was arrested around December 3.

Singh subsequently took up the matter with UAE foreign secretary Saif Saad. It is understood that he also conveyed India’s disappointment to UAE President Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan while the ruler of Abu Dhabi gave an audience to the visiting former prime minister I.K. Gujral late December, 2002. Gujral had gone to Abu Dhabi for giving a lecture at the Zayed Centre for Heritage and History.

It is learnt that early last month, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Hamdane bin Zayed Al Nahyan informally assured New Delhi that the Emirates would continue to honour the extradition treaty signed with India.

He apparently conveyed that Abu Dhabi had no intention of becoming a haven for Indian criminals. It is learnt that on Anees Ibrahim, a top UAE government source even cryptically conveyed to Delhi that ‘‘he will be returned to the place where he came from in the first place.’’

After the UAE government’s assurance, the Government worked overtime to prepare the most-wanted list with inputs from CBI, IB, RAW and Mumbai police. The UAE list was finally prepared around January 23 after two detailed meetings were held over the issue at South Block.

However, the extradition file of Anees Ibrahim was handed over to Abu Dhabi by DIG Gupta around December 17, 2002.

It is the UAE government’s assurance to India that is now being put to test since New Delhi has unofficial conformation about the Dubai detentions. This time even the relevant documents are available with the UAE authorities.