The don is depressed, brother in charge and not all is well in Dawood paradise

New Delhi, Aug 22: There is more than what meets the eye in the arrest of Jabir Moti, the chief financial manager of Dawood Ibrahim. This arrest made in London only goes on to show the increasing rift in the D-syndicate, which had begun with a succession battle between Dawood brother Anees Ibrahim and Chhota Shakeel.

While Dawood was heavily reliant on Jabir, over the past year or so, there was a falling out. In the battle of succession, Moti had sided with Shakeel, which had not gone down too well with Dawood and his brother Anees.

Succession battle:

In 2017, reports had suggested that Shakeel had broken away from the D-gang. There are also reports that Shakeel may have been killed by the ISI at the behest of Anees Ibrahim, who has complete control over the international dealings of Dawood Ibrahim.

Dawood had attempted to broker peace between Shakeel and Anees, but the truce was short-lived. As part of the truce, Shakeel was to handle the India business, while Anees was handed over the international affairs.

An Intelligence Bureau official tells OneIndia that the news of the rift within the D-gang is confirmed. All is not well in D paradise and the news regarding the death of Shakeel over this rift too is almost certain, the officer added.

While to the outside world, it appears as though Dawood is still in charge, the reality is that it is Anees who calls the shots these days. He has over the years even managed to earn the trust of the ISI and through which he could have orchestrated the hit on Shakeel, officials also say.

Meanwhile the don himself is said to be depressed. The loss of Shakeel, the rift within the gang and his turning choosing to become a Maulana have all left the don extremely down and depressed. Sources say that the information relating to Jabir could have also been leaked by Anees. India had him on the radar, but the specifics about his location could have been the doing of Anees, agencies also believe.

There were fissures within the gang for some time now and Shakeel had very often complained about the interference by Dawood's brother Anees. However, Dawood who tried to broker peace always ended up siding with his brother.

The big break-up:

The news of the break up was picked up by the IB which listened to the conversations between Shakeel and one operative in Mumbai. Shakeel sounded upset about the recent developments and indicated that he wanted to move on. He also told the operative that he would be shifting to a different area and was getting out of the don's house.

Officials who are in know of the Dawood files say that there has been a succession battle on for some time within the D-syndicate. While Dawood wants his brother Anees to head operations, many in the gang want Shakeel to take over the reigns. There have been complaints by the gang members about Anees' high handedness. On the other hand, they find Shakeel to be a better person to deal with.

Around 5 years back a similar problem had cropped up. At that time Dawood had indicated that Shakeel would handle the India operations. Anees, on the other hand, was told to handle the international operations. The system was in place for some time, but with Dawood's failing health the row erupted again. Shakeel often complained that despite the territory being marked clearly, Anees had started interfering in the Indian operations.