Did Dawood Ibrahim express his desire to surrender? Yes, says former cop

Hyderabad, May 2: India's most wanted criminal and underworld don Dawood Ibrahim is believed to have expressed his wish to surrender on several occasions, claimed former CBI DIG and retired Delhi police chief Neeraj Kumar today. Dawood Ibrahim, a prime accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts, is believed to have expressed his desire to surrender after 15 month of the blasts. In this connection, he is said to have spoken to then CBI DIG Neeraj Kumar, according to a newspaper report. The newspaper report claimed, in June 1994, Dawood is said to have spoken to Neeraj Kumar three times. However, top bosses in the CBI are said to have rejected his offer. The report claimed that Dawood was keen to surrender. However, he was worried that rival gangs could kill him immediately on his return to India. CBI is believed to have assured of safety to him. According to Neeraj Kumar, his seniors in CBI initially granted him (Kumar) permission to talk to Dawood. Later, they asked him to stop the phone calls. Kumar was heading the CBI probe into the 1993 blasts. Kumar retired as the Delhi Police commissioner in July 2013, the report said. Noted lawyer Ram Jethmalani is also believed to have said that Dawood had called him up. Dawood wanted to surrender, but the government rejected his conditions.