UAE to deport top Dawood henchman

MUMBAI: Tahir Merchant alias Tahir Taklya, one of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim's closest associates who is also an accused in the 1993 serial blasts, is likely to be extradited to India from the UAE within two months, a senior police officer said. Six other Dawood men will be sent along with him.

The news comes hot on the heels of the alleged arrest of Dawood henchman Javed Chikna in Pakistan and reports about the don himself being in trouble with the Pakistani authorities.

Tahir's extradition is seen as the result of mounting pressure from the US to hand over Dawood and his associates to India. "Most of Dawood's associates are hiding in the UAE, which doesn't want to be named as a hub for those designated terrorists by the US," the officer said. The UAE has already deported 17 Dawood associates, including his brother Iqbal Kaskar, over the last four years.

Tahir (51) is one of the 29 absconding accused wanted in the 1993 serial bomb blasts against whom Interpol has issued a red corner notice. According to the CBI, he was present at the Dubai meeting where the serial blasts conspiracy was hatched. A resident of Kambekar Street in central Mumbai, Tahir grew up with Dawood and his brothers, and is the don's trusted aide.

Tahir was arrested by the Abu Dhabi police on March 27, 2004, on charges of carrying firearms. The extradition request for him has been pending with the UAE authorities ever since.

Police sources said that it was Tahir who arranged shelter in Dubai and a passage to Islamabad for the 19 blast accused who underwent weapons training in Pakistan prior to the blasts. He is also accused of smuggling weapons and collecting funds. The CBI had issued a red corner notice (A-288/5) for him in 1994. Untraceable for 12 years, the CBI finally got news about him in March 2004. A reward of Rs 5 lakh was announced for information about him. Tahir, the police say, was handling the entire finances of the Dawood gang before the serial blasts. Even before the blasts, he visited Dubai several times and received recruits sent from Mumbai to Dubai for training. After the blasts, he fled to the UAE and started printing and circulation of fake currency in India via Nepal.