‘Dawood Ibrahim Resides Where Bin Laden Was Found’: India Rebukes UN Rapporteur Over D-Company Report

India has criticised UN Special Rapporteur Ben Saul over a report describing underworld don Dawood Ibrahim’s D-Company as an “India-based” criminal gang with terrorist links. At the United Nations, India challenged the report’s accuracy and reiterated that Dawood resides in Pakistan, where Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was found and killed.

India Flags ‘Factual Inaccuracies’ in UN Report

Raghoo Puri, First Secretary at India’s Permanent Mission to the UN, expressed “serious concern” over reports containing factual inaccuracies.

The controversy centres on Saul’s July report, Distinguishing Organised Crime from Terrorism to Protect Human Rights, which described D-Company as an India-based criminal gang with terrorist ties.

Puri said Dawood Ibrahim and D-Company had been wanted in India over terror attacks since 1993, a fact recorded in the narrative summary accompanying Dawood’s listing under the UN Security Council’s 1267 sanctions regime.

“Not mentioning this fact is regrettable, and such incompetence on the part of special mandate holders does this organisation tremendous harm,” Puri said.

He added that Dawood’s 2003 UN listing cited his links to Al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden.

‘He Resides Where Bin Laden Was Found’

Puri said Dawood remains a wanted criminal in India and resides in Pakistan, according to the UN listing cited by the Indian diplomat.

“Dawood resides in the same country where Osama bin Laden was found and neutralised,” he said.

Bin Laden, the mastermind behind the September 11, 2001, terror attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people in the United States, was found and killed by US forces in a fortified compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in May 2011.

India has repeatedly cited the discovery of bin Laden in Pakistan to challenge Islamabad’s position on terrorism.

India Rejects Pakistan’s Remarks on Kashmir

Puri also rejected remarks by Pakistan’s delegation concerning Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, accusing Islamabad of using human rights and counter-terrorism frameworks to justify its actions.

“The human rights framework cannot be the refuge of the perpetrators of terror and those who propagate radicalisation and extremism. Terrorism can never be justified,” he said.

Reiterating India’s position, Puri said Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh were “inalienable parts of India”.

Wider Dispute Over UN Human Rights Reports

The exchange comes amid recent disagreements between India and UN human rights experts.

On Tuesday, India responded to concerns raised by more than 20 UN experts over what they described as a “repeatedly heavy-handed police response” to youth-led protests in Delhi and other areas.

Barkha Tamrakar, Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs, told the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee that India supported engagement with international human rights mechanisms but insisted on transparency, cooperation and impartiality.

She said India was ready to address documented cases through established channels but opposed conclusions based on unverified allegations or incomplete statistics.

Last week, India also dismissed as “hearsay” a UN human rights expert’s report concerning a satirical political movement formed by young people, urging the expert to verify the claims before drawing conclusions.