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CBI efforts pay off
By Vinay Kumar
NEW DELHI, FEB. 9. The deportation of Aftab Ansari, the Dubai-based underworld don who had claimed responsibility for the January 22 terrorist attack outside the American Center in Kolkata, marks the culmination of painstaking efforts by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and other agencies over the past fortnight which involved pinning down the don's movements.
Addressing a press conference at the agency's headquarters late tonight, the CBI Director, P.C. Sharma, said that Ansari was wanted in a large number of terrorist, anti- national and heinous crimes since 1992. Belonging to Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, Ansari had graduated from committing petty crimes to organising a series of kidnappings of wealthy businessmen for ransom and had acquired the status of an underworld don. He was arrested in a case of shoot-out with the Delhi Police in July 1995 and was lodged in the Central Tihar Jail where he reportedly established a close nexus with Omar Sheikh and Asif Raza Khan. On his release, he jumped bail and with the assistance of Omar Sheikh fled to Dubai and controlled the strings of his criminal network in India from there.
Mr. Sharma said Ansari was arrested by the Dubai authorities at the airport with a passport given to him by Pakistan. The passport, number J-872142, issued on February 12, 2001 was valid till 2006. It had his name as Safeer Muhammad Rana and he was bound for Islamabad.
Asked if there was any ISI role in the Kolkata shooting incident last month, Mr. Sharma said it was a matter of investigation.
The CBI had been on the trail of Ansari since October last when a truck packed with arms, ammunition, 14 kg of RDX, pistols, and two AK-56 rifles was intercepted in the bordering areas of Gujarat near Santhalpur in Patan district. Four persons were picked up by the CBI in this connection and their interrogation revealed that the consignment was sent by Ansari from across the border to sponsor Jehadi activities in India. Based on the evidence, the CBI had taken up the matter with Dubai authorities.
Mr. Sharma said that a CBI team, led by the Joint Director, Neeraj Kumar, rushed to Dubai to assist the Indian Embassy to secure the deportation of Ansari. ``The CBI officials had a significant role in establishing that Ansari was an Indian citizen holding Pakistan passport and was wanted in a number of cases in India,'' he said.
The CBI had also been able to track down the phone number in Dubai from where Ansari had called up the Kolkata police and had passed it on to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
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