They have created mayhem in India and thousands have lost their lives due to their brutal acts of terror. They have planned attacks on trains, hotels, temples, the Indian Army and police personnel and have disrupted peace in India. Yet, in spite of India’s best efforts through its law-enforcing agencies, these terrorists have managed to stay free, except one. Mostly sheltered by Pakistan, these most wanted criminals continue to disrupt peace with their blatant acts of terror on Indian soil – the recent Pulwama terror attack which claimed the lives of 40 CRPF personnel – being a case in point. However, India still hopes that some day they will all be brought to justice, but the chances appear very bleak. Here’s the dreaded list.
Dawood Ibrahim: The man behind the 1993 Mumbai blasts which left 257 dead and 703 injured, Dawood features on top of India’s most wanted list. He started his career in crime from Mumbai’s Dongri locality and now resides according to many in Pakistan’s Karachi, protected by the government. Other than the Mumbai blasts Dawood is wanted in a large number of cases related to murder, extortion, drug-trafficking and terror. India designated Dawood as a global terrorist in 2003. In 2011 the FBI and Forbes named him the world’s third most wanted fugitive, but yet he still continues to evade the law.
Maulana Masood Azhar: The Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief had been arrested by India way back in the 1990s. However, the government was forced to release him to get the passengers of the Indian Airlines flight which was hijacked to Kandahar in 1999, free. Azhar is also the mastermind behind the Pulwama terror incident and many believe that he was the man behind the attack on the Indian Parliament in December 2001 which left six policemen and five terrorists dead. Azhar also stays in Pakistan and conducts all his operations from there.
Sayeed Salahuddin: This is another global terrorist India badly wants to capture. The Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) chief mainly operates out of Pakistan occupied Kashmir. His outfit has been constantly engaged in destroying the peace of Jammu & Kashmir. Salahuddin has vowed to block all efforts to ensure peace in Kashmir. The HM regularly sends in armed infiltrators across the border to conduct attacks on Indian security personnel. In 2017, the US Department of State named him as ‘Specially Designated Global Terrorist’. It can easily be said that Pakistan protects him as he regularly appears in public to conduct press conferences.
Hafiz Muhammad Saeed: The co-founder of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) is the man behind the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai which claimed over 175 lives. The US has declared a bounty of USD 10 million on his head, but even then he continues to roam around in Pakistan with disdain. In fact, Hafiz also contested in the 2018 Pakistan elections. He also features in NIA’s most wanted list.
Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi: Currently he is the supreme commander of the LeT. According to the NIA he paid more than Rs 1,50,000 to Ajmal Kasav’s family – the man who played the main role in the Mumbai terror attacks. Kasav was later sentenced to death. Lakhvi has been on NIA’s most wanted list since 2008. His exact whereabouts are however, not known. NIA has also confirmed that he was in constant touch with the terrorists during the Mumbai attack.
Abdul Subhan Qureshi: Known as the ‘Bin Laden’ of India this explosive expert is said to be the main man behind the July 2006 Mumbai train blasts in which 2009 people were killed and over 700 injured. Qureshi is a member of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). The NIA has said he has also successfully carried out bombings in Delhi and Bangalore. He was arrested from the borders of Delhi in January this year.
Chhota Shakeel: Also known as Mohammed Shakeel, Babu Miyan Shaikh, he is wanted because of his involvement in the 1993 Mumbai blasts. According to the NIA, he runs the day-to-day activities of the Dawood gang. No one knows where he is exactly based – he has been seen in Pakistan, Thailand and Singapore. But it is a fact that he regularly works with Pakistan’s ISI. A report regarding his death surfaced in December 2017, but then Indian intelligence agencies are not ready to believe it.
PNN & Agencies