Alleged Dawood Ibrahim aide becomes a mayoral candidate in Birgunj

A man alleged to have close ties to fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim is a mayoral candidate in Birgunj sub–metropolitan city.
Today the main opposition party CPN-UML announced Basaruddhin Ansari’s candidature for the third phase of local polls that is slated for September 18.
Ansari – a controversial figure who owns National Medical College in Birgunj and Kathmandu – is believed to be close to Dawood, the notorious don. It is alleged that Dawood has invested millions of rupees into the colleges that Ansari owns.
After Ansari’s candidature was announced, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba instructed Tribhuvan University (TU) to scrap the affiliation of National College – that has neither students nor faculty, students or patients – at a rented apartment building at Anam Nagar in Kathmandu. The CPN-UML chairman KP Oli, however, immediately hit back, calling the decision 'unfair' and 'unjust'.
According to reports, the Indian embassy in Kathmandu has made several correspondents to the government through the ministry of foreign affairs to probe Ansari’s properties.
In its letter, the embassy has written that it has credible information that National Medical College, Birgunj received a large investment from Dawood, and under the UN Security Council Resolution number 1526, the property should be seized.
Following the embassy’s request some 12 years ago, the foreign ministry had forwarded the letter to the ministry of home affairs.
The government had – after the request from the Indian embassy – formed a probe committee but Ansari refused to assist them, saying that they did not have authority to probe his property and threatened to move the Supreme Court.
However, according to Ansari, he has long faced similar charges and claimed he was feeling 'insecure' as a mayoral candidate, though he did not disclose the reason for feeling threatened.