NEW DELHI: Journalist Sheela Bhatt has revealed that she had interviewed underworld don Dawood Ibrahim several times in India and Dubai. Sheela said that Dawood was only an emerging criminal when she first met him. Last month, Sheela Bhatt shared on Twitter an old photo that shows her sitting with Dawood Ibrahim during an interview. This photo had gone viral on social media.

Dawood Ibrahim is a terrorist who led several terrorist activities in the country, including the 1993 Bombay bombings. Sheela, who has an experience of nearly 40 years, said that the picture with Dawood was taken in Dubai in 1988.

"Dawood Ibrahim first called me asking me to write a piece of news against the alleged harassment of girls in a government remand home in Mumbai by the men of Karim Lala. He was an emerging criminal during the 1981-82 period. The first interview took place after that phone call. Back then, I went to see him with my husband. We were asked to reach Tanker Street near Jail Road in Mumbai. As soon as we reached there, a car came and took us to Pakmodia Street. Then we met Dawood and Chhota Shakeel. The only thing that Dawood had to say was that Karim Lala is a bad man," Sheela said.

"After some years, I met Dawood in the Baroda Jail. He was playing football there. Dawood said that he would not spare Alamzeb who used to run Karim Lala's business. I soon wrote about it and published it. Alamzeb was murdered within a few days. Then there was no contact for the next 3 years," she said.

"Dawood called me again in 1987. After several calls, I got an appointment to interview him about his drug business. Thus, I went to Dubai in 1988. Back then, several well-known underworld dons were there. They all asked me if I had come to interview Dawood. Although I met Dawood, he said no to the interview that day and invited me for lunch. He refused to give an interview on the next day as well but spoke a lot. Even though an interview was held on the third day, I was not allowed to record it. On that day, he took the diary that I wrote. I had written about the three murders he committed. Upon seeing it he said that if he had not killed them, they would have killed him. I did not give him a reply. He had trust in me that I will write the things as they are and will not twist his words," Sheela added.