Dawood Ibrahim in ‘talks’ with Centre for his return: Raj Thackeray

Raj Thackeray said, “To win an election, they will claim that they will bring back Dawood, but that man himself wants to return.”

In a sensational claim, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president Raj Thackeray on Thursday said that fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim wants to return to India and is currently negotiating a settlement with the central government. He also alleged that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party will exploit Dawood’s return for political benefits by claiming that they managed to bring him back to India. “Let me tell you this in advance because it may happen in the coming future. To win an election, they will claim that they will bring back Dawood, but that man himself wants to return. He wants to come back to his homeland and there is some settlement that is happening presently,” the MNS chief said at a huge gathering to launch his official Facebook page in Mumbai.

“Let me tell you this in advance because it may happen in the coming future. To win an election, they will claim that they will bring back Dawood, but that man himself wants to return. He wants to come back to his homeland and there is some settlement that is happening presently,” the MNS chief said at a huge gathering to launch his official Facebook page in Mumbai.

He also claimed that the absconding don is now very sick and wants to breathe his last in his motherland. “It is he (Dawood) who is keen to return… But, the BJP will claim credit for this to win the next elections,” Thackeray predicted.

Dawood Ibrahim is the mastermind of the 1993 Mumbai blasts that claimed 257 lives and injured scores of people. He started out with the Haji Mastan gang but quickly made his way up and became one of the most powerful underworld dons in Mumbai. He also runs one of the largest crime syndicates in the world.

Dawood has been on a consolidated list of asset freeze targets designated by the United Nations, European Union and United Kingdom since November 2003. “International arrest warrant issued by the Government of India, also referred to as Hizrat,” reads the latest document released by the Treasury Department in London. His younger brother, Iqbal Kaskar was arrested by Anti Extortion Cell in Mumbai this week.

(With inputs from IANS)