No deal with US on bringing back Dawood: R.K. Singh

The US has offered no help to India as far as bringing most wanted terrorist Dawood Ibrahim back from Pakistan is concerned, former home secretary R.K. Singh, who has now joined the BJP, said Monday.

In an interview to CNN-IBN channel, R.K. Singh said: "Firstly, if a third country's intelligence agency is agreeing to help you, you don't talk about it in public... Secondly FBI has offered no such help...so this statement of bringing back Dawood with the help of FBI is wrong. There is even no assurance from FBI on Dawood, I was present at that conference with (Home Minister Sushilkumar) Shinde... he is lying."

At a press conference last week, Shinde had said that Dawood was in Pakistan and joint efforts were being made with the US to nab him. Dawood is wanted in a number of cases by India, including the 1993 Mumbai blasts.

On his reported differences with Shinde, R.K. Singh said: "The differences with home minister were known to everyone and it was known to higher officials and its not new...this is not something that has cropped up today."

Asked about Shinde's reported interference in stopping the interrogation of a senior businessman, he claimed: "Again it's not an allegation, it's a fact."

"As far as I recall, I think it was in connection with the match fixing case and this businessman had some sort of links with Dawood," Singh claimed according to a release by the news channel.