Speculations on Dawood Ibrahim's death due to COVID-19 triggers meme fest on social media

Even as rumours swirled on Friday evening that the one of the world’s most wanted terrorists, Dawood Ibrahim, has tested positive for COVID-19, his brother has claimed that both the top don and his wife do not have the coronavirus.

It was reported earlier that Dawood and his wife were admitted to the Army Hospital in Karachi after they tested positive for COVID-19.

However, his brother Anees Ibrahim said that neither Dawood nor any his family members have tested positive for COVID-19. He also said that all of them were at their home.

It was also reported earlier that Dawood’s staff too was placed under quarantine. Meanwhile, on Saturday morning, another, rather more sinister rumour took over social media, with some sources claiming that Dawood had died of COVID-19 in Pakistan.

While there is no clarity about the news a number of memes started doing the rounds on social media on the underworld don's death.

Netizens took to Twitter and cracked jokes and memes to celebrate the death of India’s most wanted terrorist.

Earlier, Speaking from undisclosed location over phone, Anees told IANS that though coronavirus is a dreaded epidemic, his brother Dawood and the entire family was not affected by it and are putting up at their home.

In a rare conversation, the mafia don also admitted to running business in the UAE and Pakistan.

Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar, patronised by Pakistan's spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), is believed to be residing in Karachi and is accused in several cases of cross border crimes including the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts.

For years, Islamabad has repeatedly denied Dawood and his family's presence in Pakistan. D-company's sharp shooter and in-charge of extortion and betting syndicate, Chhota Shakeel, also resides in Karachi.

n the brief telephonic conversation, Anees admitted that the D-company runs businesses through Pakistan and Dubai.

Asked about running luxury hotels in UAE and having big construction projects in Pakistan and other countries, Anees did not deny and said: "To kya karte (then why should we not do it?)." He also admitted that D-company runs transport business too.

Dawood was designated as a global terrorist in 2003 by India and the United States with a reward of US$25 million for his role in the 1993 Bombay bombings.

In 2011, he was named number three on "The World's 10 Most Wanted Fugitives" by the FBI and Forbes.

The United States Department of the Treasury designated Ibrahim as a terrorist as part of its international sanctions program, effectively forbidding US financial entities from working with him and seizing assets believed to be under his control.

Presently, Dawood Ibrahim's criminal activities are terror funding, drug trafficking, gunrunning, extortion and money laundering.

According to a dossier prepared by India in August 2015, to be handed over to Pakistan, Ibrahim has nine residences in Pakistan and has three Pakistani passports which he frequently uses to travel.