Dawood aide Shakeel, dead, alive or broken away: NOTA says the syndicate

The timing of an audio clip being released suggesting that Dawood Ibrahim's close aide Chhota Shakeel may be dead is quite interesting. There has been no confirmation or denial by the central agencies who say that they are looking into the issue in-depth.

There are four versions to the Chhota Shakeel story. First- he died of a heart attack in January. Second- he was bumped off on the directive of the ISI. Third- he is alive, but has broken away from the D-syndicate. Fourth- None of the Above.

When we speak about the timing of this news, it is pertinent to mention that it comes just two weeks after reports of him breaking away from the D gang surfaced. There was a call made by Shakeel a day after the news broke out and during the conversation, he said that the reports were untrue and he was with bhai and will be with bhai till his death.

Now the Shakeel call too is under dispute as there are question marks over whether he has been really making those calls. The name of one Rahim Merchant who has been masquerading as Shakeel has surfaced. It is said that Shakeel had trained him to speak like him. Since his ISI approved entry into Pakistan 20 years back from the UAE, he has not been making any calls. Instead it is Merchant who has been making those calls at his behest.

While all this needs confirmation and as the central agencies work on the same, it would not be wrong to say that all is not well in the D-syndicate. There has been a bitter succession battle on within the gang. Shakeel had been upset that Dawood's brother Anees had been calling the shots despite him being told not to handle the India territory. Anees had been told by Dawood to handle operations out of India. On the other hand Shakeel was tasked with the India operations.

Highly placed sources in New Delhi tell OneIndia that the syndicate is shaky. They have been hit financially and the boat is not exactly sailing smoothly. There are bound to be more shake ups and all the news relating to the syndicate which includes Dawood going into depression are signals that all is not well in Dawood land.

OneIndia News