New Delhi, Oct 27 (DHNS): Underworld don Chhota Rajan’s surprise arrest in Indonesia has put the spotlight on his one-time bosses Dawood Ibrahim and Chhota Shakeel, now his rivals, as Indian agencies are likely to intensify their efforts to net these dreaded criminals.

Rajan, who started as a petty thief and bootlegger, has been chased by the gang of Dawood and Shakeel, his one-time allies, in Australia where he was holed up.

Indian agencies will now step up their efforts to trace both Dawood and Shakeel. India has been asking Pakistan to hand over Dawood and Shakeel and has provided documentary proof on their stay in Karachi under the protection of the Pakistan spy agency ISI.

India had recently prepared a dossier to hand it over to Pakistan detailing as many as 12 addresses used by Dawood. New Delhi has also claimed that Dawood has recently purchased a property near Bilawal Bhutto’s residence. However, this dossier was not handed over as the NSA-level talks were cancelled at the last minute.

The buzz is that the tip off leading to the arrest, which came as a surprise to a section of security establishment, might have originated from underworld rivalries.
Australian police had informed their Indonesian counterparts about Rajan's journey to Bali.

AFP reported from Bali that the Australian Federal Police had confirmed in September that Rajan was living in Australia under another identity and had been in discussions with Indian authorities.

Rajan, who was once the right-hand man of Dawood, like Shakeel, has been used by Indian agencies to target them. A recent “Wikileaks” disclosure had said that Indian agencies tried to kill Dawood in 2005 using Rajan’s gang members.

However, the plan was scuttled when Mumbai Police arrested a sharp shooter from Delhi’s Chanakyapuri. The cover of the plan was blown up after reports emerged that Ajit Doval, then a retired IB Director and now National Security Advisor, was also in the car with the shooter.

‘How will this help?’

Though former police officials are welcoming the arrest, they are expressing their doubts on how Rajan in custody would be of help.

Former IPS officer Y P Singh said that from the intelligence point of view, it was “something naive” though it may be legally desirable.

“I think I would look at this with scepticism. Indian intelligence agencies would certainly have used Rajan in order to nab Dawood. It was imperative from the intelligence point of view that Rajan should have been let to roam around free so that his people and his information could have been used to nab Dawood,” Singh said.