NEW DELHI: Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a chargesheet against underground don Dawood Ibrahim and sent letters rogatory to Pakistan, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and United Kingdom (UK) seeking information about Ibrahim's alleged Gutka business set up in Pakistan with help from Indian businessmen.
The agency had filed a charge sheet against him in CBI court in Mumbai. The chargesheet has been filed against Dawood and RM Dhariwal, owner of Manikchand Gutkha, for allegedly supplying of tobacco and tobacco machines to Pakistan through Dubai.
The agency stated that of Dawood’s Gutkha business is purportedly run by his brother Anees Ibrahim.
The agency has also filed charge sheet against Dawood’s brother-in-law A H Antule, henchman Saleem Mohammed Ghaus, besides two prominent Gutkha businessmen J M Joshi of Goa Gutkha and R L Dhariwal for allegedly helping Anees Ibrahim set up Gutka plant at Hyderabad in Sindh province of Pakistan.
The case was initially registered by the Mumbai police in 2004. The investigator came to know in 2004 when Mumbai Police had arrested Jamiruddin for possession of illegal gun in Mumbai. During the interrogation, Jamiruddin revealed that Joshi and Dhariwal had helped Dawood to set up gutka manufacturing unit in at Hyderabad in Sindh province.
During the interrogation Jamiruddin started told police Dhariwal and Joshi were in a financial dispute and it was Dawood who had solved the issue. As a return for his efforts, Dawood had asked Joshi and Dhariwal to help set up a gutka manufacturing unit in Karachi.
It was around 2003-04 that the factory was set up. Mumbai police had also seized documents of spare parts being sent to the Dawood. In 2005, CBI had filed chargesheet against four persons, Jamiruddin, Rajesh Panchariya, Anees Ibrahim and Farooq Mansoori accusing them under IPC and MCOCA of aiding and abetting activities of the underworld, indulging in criminal conspiracy and maintaining links with members of organised crime syndicate.
At that time the chargesheet did not include Dhariwal and Joshi. Later, Dhariwal and Joshi were also booked under Special Maharashtra control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in Mumbai but got bail from the court.
The development has come almost a week after when the United States confirmed six residences in Pakistan to be Dawood residences, out of the nine listed in a dossier sent by India to the US to confirm the same.
Dawood is also accused of plotting the 1993 serial blasts in Mumbai in which 257 people were killed and 700 were injured.
The 58-year-old-don is also accused of masterminding other terror attacks, and is accused of money laundering and extortion.
India and the US have also claimed Dawood of financing terror groups like Al-Qaeda and Lashkar-e-Taiba.