Dawood Ibrahim (also known as Dawood Ebrahim and Sheikh Dawood Hassan) was born in India and is believed to be currently residing in the city of Karachi, Pakistan. Dawood's early career developed in the Persian Gulf states and in India. He is accused of heading a vast, sprawling illegal empire; illegally acquiring money and political clout. His name has become a byword in political, business and law enforcement circles in the manner of Al Capone and Osama Bin Laden. After the Bombay Blasts in 1993, which Dawood had organized and financed, he became India's most wanted man. He is said to have moved from the UAE to Pakistan during the ensuing controversy. In 2003, the United States Government declared Dawood Ibrahim a Global Terrorist and pursued the matter before the United Nations in an attempt to freeze his assets around the world and crack down on his operations after significant diplomatic lobbying by the government of India.

Background

The son of a police constable, Dawood Ibrahim is said to have begun his career in Mumbai working for

According to the United States Department of Treasury, the syndicate headed by Dawood Ibrahim is involved in the shipment of narcotics to the United Kingdom and Western Europe. Dawood Ibrahim is believed to have ties with Osama bin Laden; the narcoterrorist routes passing through South Asia, the Middle East and Africa are believed to be shared with Osama bin Laden and the Al Qaeda network. Dawood Ibrahim heads an organization known as the D-Company which carries out billions of dollars of operations in Mumbai alone, he is believed to control much of the 'hawala' system, which is the very commonly used unofficial system for transferring money and remittances outside the view of official agencies. Much of the organisation's operations are in India, allegedly with the support of Pakistan and the Inter-Services Intelligence.

In the late 1990s, Dawood Ibrahim is said to have traveled to Afghanistan under the protection of the Taliban. The syndicate headed by Dawood Ibrahim has been indicted on charges of inciting riots, and acts of terrorism. Dawood Ibrahim is currently one of India's most wanted in

In 2005, it was reported that Ibrahim's daughter married the son of legendary Pakistani cricketer, Javed Miandad. However, Ibrahim did not attend the ceremony in Dubai, which was closely monitored by intelligence agencies. The post wedding ceremony ( Valima ) was held in Karachi, Pakistan. None of the government offiicials attended the ceremony even though they were all invited by Javed Miandad.

Gang Wars

Sometime between 1990-1992,there was a rift between onetime close associates and aides Dawood Ibrahim and Chhota Rajan.This rift grew and both of them became sworn enemies.An outright Gang War started in the city of Mumbai.During this period, it was a common sight or news to hear that some rowdy or history sheeter has been found dead.Their enemity increased the anxiety of citizens as well. A competition of Extortion, Murder, Smuggling, Kidnapping took place between the two gangs.Any interference of matters by members of one gang with other would often result in bloody shoot-outs in the slums and docks of Mumbai.Reasons for rift have been many:

• Religious Reasons: Dawood was Muslim and Rajan was Hindu. This may have been one of the reasons though both men disagree with this reason as Dawood has a considerable number of Hindu mobsters in his gang, and Rajan has a similar number of Muslim mobsters in his gang.
• Finacial Reasons: Dawood's gang members often enjoyed more royalitites than Rajan's members as a result of which both gangs grew wary of each other. Money sharing and dividing may also have been a reason
• Accidental Reasons:Many believe that there was a misunderstanding between the two gangsters which led to the split. Some also say the split was engineered by the police.

Apart from Rajan, Dawood is believed to be at odds with Abu Salem who, like Rajan, is also a former aide and with Arun Gawli.Though Abu Salem and Dawood were previously united after Dawood and Rajan split, it is believed that Abu Salem had a noted singer Gulshan Kumar killed without Dawood's permission and this caused them to split with each other. Arun Gawli's rivalry with Dawood has existed since the very beginning.Both these enemities have petered out as Abu Salem was arrested recently in Portugal and extradited back to India and Arun Gawli gave up his gangster life to become a politician.

See also

• D-Company
• Daya Nayak
• Chhota Rajan (arch enemy)
• Mumbai Police