Dawood Ibrahim protected by ISI, Lakhvi calls shots in LeT: Abdul Karim Tunda

Abdul Karim Tunda, Dawood`s close aide has revealed certain facts which point towards the complicity of Pakistan`s ISI in 26/11 Mumbai attacks.

Zee Media Bureau/Manisha Singh New Delhi: Abdul Karim Tunda, Dawood Ibrahim`s close aide who was arrested by Delhi Police, has revealed certain facts to his interrogators which point towards the complicity of Pakistan`s ISI and one of India`s most wanted man in 26/11 Mumbai attacks, as per reports on Sunday. Tunda, an LeT explosive expert and terrorist allegedly involved in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, has revealed that Dawood was being protected by the ISI and that the Pakistani Army has deep rooted links with the mafia don, as per Delhi Police sources. A top Delhi police official said that during his interrogation, Tunda has claimed that he met Dawood several times. "He(Tunda) claims that Dawood first called him to meet in 2010. He says that the underworld don stays in a safe house in Karachi and is guarded by ISI. His movements is restricted and monitored by the intelligence agency," the official said. During his stay in Pakistan, 70-year-old Tunda, told the police he had been in touch with organisations like ISI, LeT, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Indian Mujahiddin and Babbar Khalsa and had been meeting people like Hafiz Saeed, Maulana Masood Azhar, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, Dawood Ibrahim and several others wanted by India. Tunda is proving to be a minefield of information for the security agencies. Throwing light on the Mumbai attacks mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, Tunda has apparently said that the man called the shots as far as terror outfit Lashker-e-Taiba`s (LeT) was concerned. He has also talked about his differences with Lakhvi. Among India`s 20 top most wanted terrorists, Tunda has also claimed that he had not been included in LeT`s `bleed India` policy strategy, despite being one of the founders of LeT`s pan-India operations, which had virtually left him and his family on the streets. The reason for him being overlooked was because he was considered a spent force once he arrived in Pakistan from Bangladesh in early 2000.

In order to earn a livelihood, Tunda, who had helped in indoctrinating many youths from India for terror activities, was given a two storied house bang opposite to Markaz ul Jamaat-ul-Dawah in Muridkee of Sheikhpura district of Punjab where he used to sell perfumes. It is said that Tunda`s leanings towards fundamentalism began after he witnessed the 1985 riots in Mominpura area of Nagpur in Maharashtra. Subsequently, he started preaching the youth to take up cudgels against the government. He was born in a middle class family in Delhi. Tunda`s initial association was with the Tanzim Islahul Muslimeen (TIM), or Organisation for the Improvement of Muslims. He started following the belief of the Jamaat Ahl-e-Hadis`, an ideology being followed by LeT, as per reports. Tunda was arrested on Friday after evading the security agencies for nineteen years. In a bid to escape the law, he travelled various countries.