Fake passport to Dawood-aide Farooq Takla? CBI may investigate

New Delhi: Farooq Takla, a close aide of terrorist Dawood Ibrahim who was arrested earlier this month, may have travelled to India in 2011 on a fake passport. In what possibly points to a massive breach in India's security protocol, the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) may now investigate the matter.

Takla, who provided cover and support to Dawood in Dubai for several years, was reportedly issued a passport under the guise of one Mushtaq Mohammed Miyan. The details emerged in the CBI's remand application filed on a day when Takla was produced in a CBI court. If proven, several officials in the Home Ministry and External Affairs Ministry during the UPA regime could face severe action.

A dreaded criminal, Takla shifted his base of operations to Dubai after being accused in the 1993 Mumbai Blasts. He was deported from the UAE with the help of central intelligence agencies and put on a flight to Delhi. His arrest has been seen as a major achievement for Indian law enforcement agencies and Takla has revealed several details about D-Company boss Dawood including how Pakistan provided shelter and cover to him. He has also revealed details about his own activities, stating that he used to drive taxis in Dubai as a front for his underworld dealings. Apart from providing local support to Dawood in Dubai, Takla also acted as a mediator, on behalf of Dawood, between two warring guthka barons.