U.S. agency helped track abductors

KOLKATA, AUG. 19. A U.S. agency and Interpol have helped the Indian police track down ISI-backed underworld don Dawood Ibrahim's gang members responsible for abducting shoe magnate and realtor, Mr. Partha Sarathi Roy Burman, official sources have said.

Indian authorities sought the help of the U.S. agency to track down a mobile phone call from Dubai to Mr. Burman's residence here demanding a huge ransom for his release, the sources said.

They said the Indian police made a request to the U.S. agency through Interpol, which has been helping India in a number of international cases. With the help of the U.S. agency, police were finally able to trace the Dubai caller, identified as Shafique alias Shaheed, right-hand man of Karachi-based Dawood Ibrahim. ``It is now clear that Dawood Ibrahim and his gang have been working for Pakistan's Inter-Service Intelligence and using its roaming call facilities to carry out subversive activities in India,'' the sources said.

Already four such agents have been arrested from Hyderabad and one from Uttar Pradesh. Also, four agents have been arrested in Kolkata, the sources said.

``The breakthrough in the Roy Burman abduction case was largely possible due to the help of Interpol and the U.S. agency. Such cooperation will help us prevent subversive activities by the ISI and terrorist groups backed by Osama bin Laden,'' they pointed out. The sources said following the Roy Burman case breakthrough, it would be possible to resolve some other cases of abductions and subversive activities in the country.

The four ISI agents, arrested from Hyderabad, had confessed that Mr. Burman's family had paid Rs. 3 crores as ransom, which was sent to Shafique in Dubai through hawala.

``One of the arrested, Abdur Karim, said to be the leader of the Hyderabad gang, collected the money from Mr. Roy Burman's family on behalf of Shafique,'' the sources said.

Detectives had already begun operations in Bangalore, Mumbai and Uttar Pradesh to track down the other agents and gang members.

- UNI

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