Declared Pakistan national by Thai court, Dawood aide back in Pak running real estate business

New Delhi, Oct 09: India faced a setback in a Thailand court when it lost an extradition battle relating to a Dawood aide with Pakistan. The development was a major setback as India had scored a victory in the lower court. In August 2018, the lower court in Thailand had ruled that Muzakkir Muddassar Hussain alias Munna Jhingada is an Indian citizen.

The Thai court of appeal had overturned a lower court order which had okayed the extradition of Munna Jhingada, a close aide of Dawood Ibrahim. The order was passed on October 1, 2019, following which Jhingada was flown back to Pakistan. Sources tell OneIndia that he has been entrusted work in the D-Company. He is handling the real estate side of the business, sources also said.

The D gang has real estate interests in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Pakistan and Dubai. Jhingada who was arrested 18 years back in Thailand for the attempted murder of Chhota Rajan is familiar with the business. Prior to his arrest, he had taken an active part in making real estate investments in the above-mentioned countries.

Jhingada, a sharp-shooter who was tasked with killing Chhota Rajan, has been in a Thailand jail for 18 years. India had sought his extradition as he is wanted in several cases.

As India made the extradition request, Pakistan made a claim that he was their national. This led to the case dragging on for 18 years before a decision was finally made.

The Indian security agencies say that the order was shocking as the evidence was grade A. We had provided the court with all possible evidence that included fingerprints, DNA samples of family members, his educational certificates and also copies of the FIR.

Jhingada, a sharp-shooter who was tasked with killing Chhota Rajan, has been in a Thailand jail for 18 years. India had sought his extradition as he is wanted in several cases. Moreover, with India trying to crack down on the Dawood gang, Jhingada was an important link.

In the lower court, India said that he was an Indian national. However, Pakistan countered the claim while stating that he is their national. This clearly shows that he enjoys the patronage of Pakistan's ISI, the official also told OneIndia.

Jhingada had fled India in 1997 and landed in Dubai first. He then fled to Karachi in 1999 to join Dawood Ibrahim. Always a close aide of Chhota Shakeel, he was given an important assignment to kill Chhota Rajan. He was arrested in 2002 and charged with attempt to murder by the Bangkok police.

During the hearing, Pakistan produced the address proof of his wife. Pakistan also was allowed to produce 41 witnesses. All these persons deposed stating that his wife lived in Pakistan. However, this was Jhingada's second wife that they were referring to.

In addition to this, Pakistan all through the hearing claimed that the man in question was Mohammad Saleem. Pakistan produced several documents including a passport, which was in fact fake.

For India, to prove his nationality, his DNA samples became important. The Mumbai crime branch played a vital role in this exercise. His family in Mumbai had to be convinced to give their DNA samples. It took some convincing as they did not want Jhingada to return to India and face trial. Prior to this, the crime branch also had an uphill task in locating his family. It was widely suspected that they may have fled India.

Once the samples were obtained from the family, it was sent to Thailand and then matched. This proved to a vital part of the case, which ultimately led to him being declared as an Indian national in the lower court.