New Delhi: Former Delhi police commissioner Neeraj Kumar has claimed that underworld don Dawood Ibrahim wanted to surrender but the CBI did not agree to it.

In an interview to Hindustan Times, Kumar also claimed to have spoken to Dawood Ibrahim three times in June 1994.

"I spoke to a jittery Dawood three times in June 1994... He seemed to be toying with the idea of surrendering but had one worry - his rival gangs could finish him off if he returned to India. I told him his safety would be the responsibility of the CBI," Neeraj Kumar said.

Kumar added that Dawood was afraid that rival gangs would kill him.

"Dawood was worried that his rivals may kill him if he would come back. I played along and told him that the CBI would take care of his safety if he were to return but before we could actually talk terms of surrender, my bosses in the CBI told me to back off," Neeraj Kumar added.

Kumar said after granting permission to talk to the gangster, his seniors abruptly told him to put an end to the phone calls.

In December last year, India had asked Pakistan to hand over Dawood Ibrahim, saying enough evidence have been given to it on the prime accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts.

Kumar was leading the CBI probe into the 13 blasts that rocked Mumbai on March 12, 1993.

Top intelligence sources involved in tracking D-Company disclosed that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence has helped Dawood move to a high-security zone close to the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.