‘Met Dawood Ibrahim in Pakistan twice’

MUMBAI: “I was born on May 29, 1970 in a village in Chiplun, Maharashtra. My father worked with the Navy.

I took HSC exams in 1986. Even as I was studying, I worked at Hotel Oberoi, Leela and Kumariya residency as a steward between 1987 and 1989. I met Abu Bakkar [1993 blast accused who is staying in Dubai] when I was looking for a job after 1989. He told me to work with him. We used to buy smuggled electronic goods and sell it to shopkeepers on Lamington road.

I then met Salim Mira Mohammuddin Shakh alias Salim Kutta.

In 1990-91, Abu and Salim learned that Mohammad Dossa and his brother Mustafa were running gold and silver smuggling business in Mumbai. We thought of joining the Dossa brothers. We started working for a salary of Rs 5,000 a month. Our job was to deliver gold and silver to their customers in Mumbai. Salim later became Mohammad’s bodyguard. I, too, was given the responsibility of delivering goods to Ajmer, Kolhapur, Indore and Ratlam.

By 1992, the Dossas gave Salim Kutta, Mechanic Chacha and me 5% share in their business. Mohammad had special trucks, tempos and cars with hidden compartments to transport the smuggled valuables.

In 1992, I helped transport 30-35 consignments at Dighi, Bankot and Shekhadi. Our smuggling activities stopped after Babri demolition.

In January 1993, mechanic chacha, Salim and some of our group members went to get another consignment from Dighi jetty. The consignment contained 250-300 silver bricks, 25-30 wooden boxes and 15-20 canvas bags.

The wooden boxes and canvas bags contained AK 56 rifles, bullets, hand grenades, .9 mm pistols. Some men came to Shabbir’s village near Dighi and took the weapons from us.

After the blasts, Mohammad asked me to collect the remaining weapons from Shabbir’s home and throw them into the sea.

On March 18, 1993, Mohammad asked us to flee Mumbai. I escaped to Nepal through Indore, Bhopal, Jhansi, Lakhnow, Varanasi and Baharai. In 1995, I got a fake passport in the name of Firoz Miya in Nepal. I used this passport to travel to India, Dubai, Saudi Arabia and several other countries. In 1996-97 and 1999, I travelled to Karachi from Dubai and met Dawood Ibrahim at Moin Palace, Clifton, Karachi, Pakistan. The first time I took some clothes for his family, while the second time I attended his brother Humayun’s wedding. I did not know I was wanted in the blasts case. In August 2005, I returned to India on my forged passport.”

THE WOODEN BOXES AND BAGS CONTAINED AK 56 RIFLES, BULLETS, HAND GRENADES, .9 MM PISTOLS