Zee Media Bureau/Ritesh K Srivastava
New Delhi: Days after reassuring the nation that all terrorists wanted in India will be brought to justice one by one, Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Monday said that he will not hesitate in taking help from the United States to nab underworld don Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar.
Shinde, while informing that the Centre would build pressure on Pakistan to hand over Dawood Ibrahim, who is holed up there, also suggested launching a joint operation by India and the US to get hold of him.
Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar has been named as a ‘global terrorist’ by the United States and the underworld don is wanted in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case.
“During my recent visit to the US, I had told the FBI and Attorney General Eric Holder about Dawood’s presence in Pakistan … I told them, India and America need to conduct a joint operation to nab the underworld don,” Shinde was quoted as telling reporters here.
The States Department had in 2003 named Dawood a “global terrorist” for having close links to al Qaeda, while in 2006 the US President termed him a “foreign narcotics trafficker” for smuggling narcotics from Afghanistan and Thailand to the US, Europe and other places across the globe.
Shinde had on Saturday said that the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts prime accused was in Pakistan and this information was conveyed to Pakistan as well as the United States.
Shinde said an Interpol Red Corner Notice had already been issued against Dawood.
The Home Minister also said many terrorists were still coming from Pakistan and the recent arrest of Abdul Karim Tunda was another example how the neighbouring country gives shelter to terrorists.
He also termed the recent arrest of Yasin Bhatkal as a "big" achievement of security forces and stressed that agencies had been looking for him for a long time as he was involved in many blasts.
