Ex R&AW officer NK Sood in a recent interview to Defensive Offence made stunning revelations about the unholy nexus of Congress and NCP leaders including Sharad Pawar with the dreaded gangster Dawood Ibrahim and their complicity in shielding the D-Company supremo from arrests and sabotaging the Indian intelligence’s efforts in nabbing the Mumbai 1993 bomb blast accused.

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In a blistering attack against the NCP leader Sharad Pawar, Sood asserted that there existed an illicit link between the NCP chief and Dawood Ibrahim, claiming that Pawar, who was the chief minister of the state at that time allowed Dawood Ibrahim and the other accused of the bomb blasts to flee the country. He also said that the police and the law enforcement agencies didn’t come down hard against the Dawood Ibrahim gang in the aftermath of the blasts, hinting at a possible symbiotic relationship between the two entities. “It is an open knowledge that Sharad Pawar had links with Dawood Ibrahim,” said Sood.

Sood further emphasised that Sharad Pawar’s recent remarks regarding Pakistan that it is a hospitable country and Indian politicians are exaggerating about the situation there lays bare his ingrained love for the neighbouring country. Sood contended that the real reason behind Sharad Pawar’s affection with the terrorist nation Pakistan is because they are hosting Dawood Ibrahim. “Pawar’s defence of Pakistan shows that he not only has business links with Pakistan and Dawood but there is something more profound,” said Sood.

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Sood continued, “When Balakot happened, Sharad Pawar said that the attack is not on Pakistan but on Jammu and Kashmir. It is an interesting statement made by a politician of Pawar’s stature who had been in Congress, had held important positions and was once a chief minister of Maharashtra. When such a tall leader makes such a statement, one is compelled to believe that there are other reasons and motivations behind it.”

Sharad Pawar was at the helm of affairs in Maharashtra when Mumbai was rocked with 12 serial blasts in March 1993, leaving scores of innocent people dead. During that time, Sood claims, Sharad Pawar pulled the wool over people’s eyes by declaring that 13 blasts have happened and not 12, one being at a mosque. According to Sood, Sharad Pawar possibly wanted to deflect the attention of the nation from Pakistan and Dawood Ibrahim. Furthermore, Sood said that when investigative agencies asked the government to seize Dawood Ibrahim’s properties, Sharad Pawar undermined the efforts by simply stating that Dawood had no properties here.

Sood continued saying that Dawood was successful in escaping away to Dubai and Pakistan because some influential people, mostly politicians, offered him extra time for him to safely exit the country. “During that time R&AW units in the Gulf countries were deliberately disrupted because of Ratan Sehgal, who later turned out to be a CIA agent and Hamid Ansari, some heads were not there, officers were replaced. I am not directly linking it with Mumbai blasts but such providential circumstances do cast doubts in one’s mind,” Sood said.

In addition, Sood said that India’s persistent efforts to bring D-Company head, Dawood Ibrahim, back to the country were not full-throttled, claiming that the Manmohan Singh government lacked a strong will and unwavering determination to bring the prime accused in the Mumbai serial blasts to book. Sood reminisced how the UPA government in 2005 left the intelligence agencies to their own devices for nabbing the D-company kingpin during the reception ceremony of his daughter’s marriage with Pakistani cricketer Javed Miandad’s son.

Sood added that not only did Manmohan Singh displayed little interest in catching Dawood Ibrahim, the intelligence agencies’ plans to arrest Dawood Ibrahim were effectively thwarted by the Congress government and other senior leaders during that time. “Ajit Doval who retired from his services was brought back to preside over a covert operation of arresting Dawood in Dubai and bringing him back to the country. Two officers were selected to carry out the operation. When Doval was briefing them about the operation in a car headed to airport, the Delhi DSP stopped them from flying to Dubai and executing their operation. In a crucial operation like this, the last minute intervention from a government employee shows that senior leaders in Congress, NCP and others did not want Dawood to be caught” said Sood.

Regarding Dawood Ibrahim’s offer to voluntary surrender, Sood contended that leaders like Sharad Pawar and others who had business links with D-company did not want him to return to India and spill the beans about his past exploits which had the potential of destroying the political careers of such politicians and he. It is for this reason, Sood argues, Sharad Pawar did not accede to the modest demands made by Dawood Ibrahim-not subjecting him to third degree and guarantee of not being sentenced with capital punishment on conviction, for returning to India.

In another explosive disclosure, the Ex RAW officer said that several Congress leaders, particularly Ahmed Patel, the close aide of Sonia Gandhi, too had links with Dawood Ibrahim. “Ahmed Patel’s association with Dawood Ibrahim is a matter of fact,” exclaimed Sood.