In what could be seen as a diplomatic victory for India, a Thailand court on Wednesday ruled in favour of the Mumbai Crime Branch and observed that Mudassar Hussain Sayed, alias Munna Jhingada, an alleged aide of Dawood Ibrahim, is an Indian citizen. Both India and Pakistan have been contesting for his custody for the last 18 years, each claiming Jhingada is its national and should be extradited for him to be brought to justice. Jhingada, said to be an ace shooter, has been lodged in a Thailand jail on charges of shooting Dawood’s rival Chhota Rajan in Bangkok in 2000. Rajan was deported in November 2015 and is on trial in some of the 70-plus cases against him. In 2014-15, after pursuing for long Jhingada’s family members, who stay in Mumbai suburb Jogeshwari, the Crime Branch secured a court order to get DNA samples of his parents and sister. The samples were sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) here, which carried out its profiling and sequencing. The reports were sent to the Thai authorities along with other documents such as Jhingada’s school leaving certificate, birth record of his first child, who was born in Mumbai, his voter ID cars, among others. “The DNA test was a definite step and that helped get the order in our favour,” an officer said on condition of anonymity. “Convincing the family to undertake the test was an uphill task, as they were not keen on Jhingada returning and facing the law. But after sustained efforts they consented and then the court procedures were followed to ensure that Pakistan does not claim any legal loophole.” Once the samples were sent, the officer said, the Indian embassy in Thailand followed up and a court there ordered for Jhingada’s DNA test. His DNA matched with the samples sent by Crime Branch, the officer said. “Pakistan had contested our claims and produced residential address proof of his wife, details of the school where his children were studying. While we also submitted documents such as his (Jhingada’s) school leaving certificate from Ismail Yusuf School and College in Jogeshwari, from where he dropped out, and others, the DNA report was the most crucial evidence against him,” the officer said. Inspector General K M M Prasanna, who has monitored the case closely, told The Indian Express, “It is the result of sustained efforts by officers and Crime Branch (officials) and excellent coordination among Mumbai Police, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the MEA, and Indian embassy in Bangkok.” Jhingada has seven cases lodged against him in Mumbai, including extortion and issuing threats. He fled the country in 2000 with his wife and a child. Sources said he took refuge in Pakistan and his second child was born there. He was arrested by Thai authorities in 2001 and was sentenced to an eight-year prison term for his role in the 2000 shooting on Rajan. India and Pakistan have locked horns over his custody since then. The Crime Branch brass is said to have felt that the case had slipped from their hands last year after Jhingada’s family ostensibly disappeared from their Jogeshwari home. “With reports that they had fled to Pakistan, we got worried. But they were located in the country,” another source said. “The family was tired of the constant media scrutiny and had fled from their home. However, a team which was keeping a close watch on them tracked the family members and brought them back.”
