The Bid D (Part-1)

Power flows from the barrel of the gun. Ask Dawood Hasan Ibrahim Kasakar: He is not just an attestation to this power, he is living testimony to its omnipresence. India's mafia export to the world, now living in hiding somewhere in Pakistan, underworld leader Dawood Ibrahim is the most wanted man on the planet. When Dawood, leader of the infamous criminal outfit D Company, was dubbed a global terrorist by the US Treasury Department in 2004, there were no furrows in the brows of his henchmen, spread all over the globe. They said the United States had reaffirmed the depth of his twisted heart that he is on par with the President of the United States.

    

    And so for many years, Dawood would name all his vills 'The White House'. He had one in Dubai until 1994, and when he shifted base to Karachi, his new headquarters become The White House; and there was another White House in London. Like the original White House incumbent, Dawood Juggles deals with several countries- the difference being that most of the people he deals with several are the shadowy ones who fuel the black economy of most countries. Wanted by India for various crimes including masterminding the 1993 Bombay serial bombing in which 257 people died and over 700 others where wounded, Dawood is also suspected of having provided logistical support for the 26/11 terrorist attack in the city.

    In the year after he left Indian shores in 1986, the ganglord kept pining for his home country and made many attempts to stage a comeback. So while in enforced exile in Dubai, Dawood would recreate India in Dubai or Sharjah, by getting Bollywood stars to dance to his tunes or cricketers to do his bidding in his adopted country of residence.

    Dawood had managed a pleasant lifestyle, a home away from home. But he would frequently send feelers about his wish to return to India through some politicians whom he was close to; it would be stonewalled, he would try again, and so on.

     Then the March 1993 serial boom blasts happened and Dawood realized that he had to finally cut the umbilical cord. Named as one of the accused, Dawood understands that he had no hopes of ever returning to his motherland. His rise to international fame began after 1992; until then he was chiefly involved in real estate; gold, silver, and electronics smuggling; and drug trafficking.