Underworld don and fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his wife were reportedly admitted to a military hospital in Karachi, Pakistan, after being tested positive for coronavirus. Only days after this news broke, there are reports coming out of Pakistan, which claim India's most wanted don and the D-company leader is dead.
The 64-year-old fugitive's personal staff and other guards were reportedly put under quarantine after their boss tested positive for the deadly virus, which has claimed millions of lives across the world. But the reports of Dawood Ibrahim's death haven't been confirmed and the legitimacy of the sources cited for this piece of information could not be independently verified by International Business Times, India.
Dawood Ibrahim's death - an ISI plot?
Dawood Ibrahim has sought refuge in Pakistan for several years, and he owns several properties across the country. This has helped him frequently change his hideouts while operating a global terror group. While Pakistan has publicly denied any knowledge of Dawood's presence in the country, intelligence suggests the underworld gangster has been staying there under the protection of the government.
United Nations has even designated Dawood Ibrahim a terrorist. He is accused of orchestrating the 1993 serial blasts in Mumbai, which killed over 250 people. Dr Tricia Bacon, a researcher on terrorism and insurgency at The American University, had revealed that ISI had outsourced the 1993 blasts to the D Company in exchange for allowing Dawood to freely run his terror reign from Pakistan.
Besides, the gangster is the accused mastermind of various other terror attacks. But the timing of these reports - Dawood's coronavirus diagnosis followed by his death - and authenticity of the whole claim remains unverified, which begs the question, is ISI behind it? It is possible that Dawood's death is a hoax and a plot by Pakistani security service to take the fugitive off India's radar.
Dawood Ibrahim death hoaxes
True or not, this is not the first time a death hoax has surrounding Dawood Ibrahim has made the headlines. Back in 2017, there were several messages claiming that Dawood Ibrahim had died of a heart attack. Dawood has been claimed to be dead by numerous unverified sources over the years.
