Fugitive don Dawood Ibrahim hospitalised in Karachi, believed to be poisoned

FUGITIVE underworld don Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar has been hospitalised in Karachi due to serious health complications. Several reports suggest that the fugitive don was likely poisoned but there is no official confirmation on the same from either the Indian side or the Pakistani side.

As of Monday, Ibrahim has been hospitalised for around two days. He is the only patient on his floor and his security cover has been tightened. The security cover is so tight that only Ibrahim's close family members and top hospital authorities have access to the floor, as per sources. 

Moreover, there are also reports circulating in Pakistani media that internet services on Sunday were impacted almost in all parts of Pakistan. Users reported difficulties in accessing Youtube, Facebook and X formerly known as Twitter.

The apps, especially website versions, have been down in the country since 7 pm on Sunday. Karachi, Mir Pur Khas, Lahore and Rawalpindi were the worst affected cities, Geo News reported.  Back home, the Mumbai Police are trying to extract more information on Dawood Ibrahim's hospitalisation from his relatives Alishah Parkar and Sajid Wagle.

Earlier this year, Alishah Parkar, the son of the don's sister Haseena Parkar, told the National Investigative Agency (NIA) that Ibrahim is in Karachi and has married for the second time.

The NIA suggested in its chargesheet against the underworld don that he and his aides control Karachi airport since the passports of Ibrahim and his close accomplice Chhota Shakeel as well as their family members who came to Pakistan were never stamped by Karachi airport authorities.

He added that the don has not yet divorced his first wife Maizabin, who gets in touch with people via WhatsApp calls. He further said that he met Maizabin in Dubai in July last year, when she told him about Dawood's second marriage. 

Alishah Parkar believes that Dawood Ibrahim's second marriage could likely be his attempt to shift the agencies' focus from his first wife Maizabin. Parkar also gave the central agency information about the fugitive don's brothers-- Sabir Ibrahim Kaskar, Noora Ibrahim Kaskar, Mustaqeem Ibrahim Kaskar, Iqbal Kaskar, Anees Ibrahim and Mohammed Humayoon Ibrahim Kaskar. 

Dawood Ibrahim is believed to be the mastermind of the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts. The bombings claimed the lives of more than 250 people and left thousands injured. In 2003, the Indian and the US governments declared Ibrahim a "global terrorist".

He is currently on India's 'Most Wanted List'. Indian authorities have often stated that Ibrahim lives in Pakistan's Clifton area. Pakistani authorities, on the other hand, have denied that he was living in Pakistan.