Dawood Fled India Long Ago, Says India After UN Report Reference Draws Objection

India has strongly objected to a reference in a United Nations report that described gangster Dawood Ibrahim’s D-Company as an “India-based” criminal organization, calling the characterization factually incorrect and misleading.
 

The objection was raised by Raghoo Puri, First Secretary at India’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, during discussions at the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee. Puri was responding to a report submitted by UN Special Rapporteur Ben Saul on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism.
 

Addressing the committee, Puri said India had repeatedly expressed concerns on various platforms regarding factual inaccuracies appearing in reports issued by Special Rapporteurs. He argued that such errors were being published without adequate accountability and could harm the credibility of international institutions.
 

The Indian representative specifically referred to a passage in the report stating that the UN Security Council had listed the leader of an “India-based D-Company” in 2003 for links with Al-Qaeda. According to Puri, when read in isolation, the statement presents a picture that is inconsistent with the actual facts of the case.
 

Rejecting the description of D-Company as India-based, Puri said the criminal organization and its listed leader, Dawood Ibrahim, have been wanted in India in connection with terrorist attacks since 1993. He pointed to the reasons cited under the UN Security Council’s 1267 sanctions regime, which deals with Al-Qaeda-related sanctions, stating that the details are clearly recorded in the listing documentation.
 

Puri said the omission of these facts was unfortunate and warned that such inaccuracies by mandate holders could cause significant damage to the institution’s credibility.
 

Seeking to clarify India’s position, he stated that Dawood Ibrahim had fled India long before the 2003 UN listing. He added that it was during his period of residence outside India that he was designated for his association with Al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden.
 

In an apparent reference to Pakistan, Puri noted that Dawood Ibrahim remains a fugitive criminal wanted in India and currently resides in the same country where Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was located and killed.
 

Bin Laden was killed by US Navy SEALs during a raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in 2011.
 

India maintained that accurate factual representation in international reports is essential, particularly in matters involving terrorism and transnational criminal networks, and stressed that errors in such documents can lead to misleading interpretations.