File photo of Dawood Ibrahim.
A day after his statement in Parliament on underworld don Dawood Ibrahim triggered an uproar, Minister of State for Home Haribhai Chaudhury clarified, "We don't have his (Dawood Ibrahim) address but we know he is in Pakistan. There is no confusion."
Yesterday, responding to a question on Dawood's extradition, Mr Chaudhury had said that his location was not known. "The subject has not been located so far. Extradition process with regard to Dawood Ibrahim would be initiated once the subject is located," he said in the Lok Sabha.
The statement contradicted what successive governments have always maintained - that the 59-year-old is in Karachi, under the Pakistan government's protection. Mr Chaudhury's senior, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, had said in December. "We have repeatedly asked Pakistan to hand over Dawood Ibrahim. Let's be patient. Action will be taken soon."
Dawood Ibrahim is one of India's most wanted men for masterminding the 1993 blasts in Mumbai in which over 300 people were killed.
He is at number 8 on a list of 50 most wanted terrorists that India handed over to Pakistan in 2011. India has submitted several dossiers to Pakistan giving details about his location. The then Home Minister P Chidambaram had said that India was "aware of the street on which he lives."
An Interpol red-corner notice and UN Special notice has also been issued against Dawood, the son of a Mumbai police constable.