The Brother Hood

Murali Krishnan December 23, 2002 00:00 IST The Brother Hood -0001-11-30T00:00:00+05:53

Could it be third time unlucky for underworld don Anees Ibrahim, brother of India's most wanted criminal, Dawood? He was arrested in Dubai on December 3. But even in the post-September 11 scenario, it is unclear if New Delhi will succeed in bringing Anees back and to book. Anees had been picked up by the UAE authorities in 1996 and then again in 1998 for separate offences. Both times, he managed to elude Indian law enforcement agencies.

Despite their best efforts, both the CBI and the foreign office already face their first obstacle. It is now clear that Anees will have to be tried and serve time for the offences he has committed in the UAE before he can be repatriated to India. Also, he has been travelling on a genuine Pakistani passport this time and complications could arise at a later stage over his nationality. A CBI official told Outlook, "We have little option but to dig our heels in and wait."

For the CBI, all this is a case of deja vu. A virtual rewind to what happened when an enthusiastic team rushed to Lisbon in August to bring back the notorious...