New Delhi: Former Delhi Police commissioner Neeraj Kumar has revealed that he had spoken to underworld don Dawood Ibrahim on three different occasions.
In his book 'Dial D for Don', Kumar mentioned about his conversations with Dawood and explained that how a senior officer had stopped him from talking the most wanted man of India.
Kumar said that the long dialogues between the don and him had taken place on June 10, June 20 and June 22, 1994.
While explaining further, he wrote, "My first conversation with him started on a rather awkward note. Maintaining my officiousness, I asked him: Haan batayiye, aap mujhe kuchh batana chahte hain, jaisa Manish ne mujhe kaha hai. (Yes, I understand from Manish that you have something to tell me. Please go ahead.)"
"The don spoke in a typical Mumbai accent, with confidence and an utter lack of fear. He made no attempt to please me, as is the wont of certain criminals when they are dealing with state authorities. He simply said: Saheb, iske pehle ki main kuchh bataoon, pehle aap batayiye ki aapko kya lagta hai ki maine Mumbai mein blast karwaye hain? (before I tell you anything, would you please tell me whether you too feel that I organized the blasts in Mumbai?)"
"Sawaal ka jawaab aap sawaal se de rahe hain. Mujhe kya lagta hai ye mayaney nahin rakhta. Agar aap kuchh kehna chahte hain to kahiye. (You are answering my question with a counter question. What I feel is of no consequence. If you have something to tell me, please go ahead.)"
During one conversation he said: "Saheb, mujhe yeh sab karna hota to mujhe hathiyar bhejne ki zaroorat nahi hoti. Hamare ladkon ke paas kaafi hathiyar pade hain. (Sir, if I had to do all this, I need not have sent any weapons. My boys have enough at hand.) Kya aapke ladkon ke paas itna RDX bhi pada hai ki aap serial dhamake kara sakte hain? I asked him. (Do your boys have that much RDX to cause serial blasts?)"
"A flustered don fumbled for words for a moment and replied: Dekho, saheb, agar main yeh sab karta na to itni safai se karta ki police ke paas akkha saboot mere khilaf nahi milta. Aap ye baat samjho. Aap to CBI mein ho. Ek baat aur, main bhi apni poori family ko wahan se hata deta jaisa Tiger ne kiye la hai. Meri ma, meri behan, sab udhar Bambai mein hi baitha hai thus evading my question on RDX. (Look, sir, if I had to carry out such an operation, I would have done it with such finesse that the police wouldn't have got a whit of evidence against me. You should appreciate this point since you are in the CBI. And, most importantly, I too would have moved my family members out as Tiger did. My mother and sisters are all there in Mumbai.)"
Kumar also revealed that he stopped talking to Dawood after one of his officer advised him not to pursue the communication any further with the don as it fell in the domains of agencies like IB and RAW.
Furthermore, he said that Dawood had called him just before his retirement in July 2013.
"One day I received a call on my personal mobile in the last week of June 2013 from an 'unknown number'. It was in all probability the Don himself. He said: Kya, saheb, aap retire hone ja rahe ho. Ab to peechha chhod do. (What is this, sir? You are about to retire. Isn't it time you left me alone?) The caller hung up before I could respond," it reads.
Dawood is wanted in India for masterminding blasts in 1993 in Mumbai, killing 257 people and injuring over 700.
