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Chhota Rajan 'bada' catch: Underworld don arrested in Indonesia

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Indian envoy meets Chhota Rajan in Bali

NEW DELHI: The security of terrorist mastermind and main accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial bombings Dawood Ibrahim , who reportedly keeps shuttling between safe houses in Pakistan, has been enhanced in the past one week with the Pakistan army directly overseeing arrangements, according to senior sources in the Indian intelligence establishment.The stepped up protection for Dawood, who figures at the top of the most-wanted list of Indian fugitives based in Pakistan, comes close on the heels of a similar security upgrade for Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) boss and 26/11 plotter Hafiz Mohammad Saeed and coincides with the arrest of Dawood’s arch rival Chhota Rajan in Bali, Indonesia.Chhota Rajan is expected to be deported and flown back to India on Tuesday or Wednesday and Indian agencies will certainly quiz him over his one-time comrade turned foe Dawood. Though the focus of Indian agencies on locating Dawood predates Chhota Rajan’s arrest, reports that India is stepping up attempts to reach the Pakistan-based don might be a factor in Dawood’s additional protection.A senior official cited intelligence reports to claim that special commandos of the Pakistan army had been deployed at Dawood’s residences in Karachi and Islamabad, where he has been living for more than two decades.Earlier in the day, while being taken for questioning in Bali, Chhota Rajan confirmed to the media that Dawood was indeed in Pakistan under the protection of ISI. This flies in the face of Pakistan’s repeated thin denials of Dawood’s presence on its soil.New Delhi has time and again shared dossiers with Pakistan pinpointing the known addresses and locations of Dawood as well as his activities and business interests there. In fact, in the latest dossier prepared for NSA-level talks in August -- that were eventually called off -- India shared an updated list of his known addresses in Pakistan, besides putting out a recent photograph as well as bills issued in his wife’s name and sent to an address in Karachi.Dawood, according to intelligence sources, has completely avoided travelling out of Pakistan for the past several years. Apart from partnering the ISI in anti-India terrorist activities, Dawood is understood to be running extortion, betting and drug and arms trafficking.Home minister Rajnath Singh had a few months ago assured Parliament that the government was committed to bringing Dawood back. The statement came even as Indian agencies are working hard on making this possible.Rajan, once a close confidante of Dawood, has claimed he is not afraid of the don but the operation to bring him back to India seems, at least in part, due to concerns that Dawood associate Chhota Shakeel was closing in on him in Australia where Rajan was living under the assumed identity of Mohan Kumar.In 2000, there was an attempt on Rajan's life when Dawood's men tracked him down to a hotel in Bangkok but he managed a dramatic escape.