Do not question Govt.'s intention on Dawood, says Rijiju

Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday assured that India has been pursuing underworld don Dawood Ibrahim's case seriously and the intention of the government

should not be questioned.

Rijiju asserted that, if necessary, clarifications would be given in the Lok Sabha session to be held on May 6.

"If necessary, clarifications will be given. But, what I want to say is that please do not question the intention of the government. The government is very clear and government's job is well defined and it is pursuing the case very seriously and there are no lapses on our part," Rijiju said.

Rijiju further said that the Pakistan government was not cooperative with its Indian counterpart regarding the whereabouts of Dawood.

"The government's consistent stand is that he (Dawood) is in Pakistan and Government of India has been providing information to Pakistan about his whereabouts and Pakistani agencies are not cooperating with Indian Government, that is very well known to everybody," he said.

Earlier in the day, Minister of State for Home Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary informed the Parliament that Ibrahim's whereabouts are unknown and an extradition process can only be initiated after he is located, contradicting a statement given by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who had assured that the government would take appropriate action to nab the mastermind of the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts.

According to reports, the gangster's last traced location was Karachi and he used to travel to Dubai, but after an Interpol notice was issued against him, he stopped.