Anil Dhawan was an Indian Navy submarine commander. In 2015, he and RAW agent Samit Mishra commanded the mission to rescue the RAW operatives Daniyal Khan and Nawaz Mistry from international waters after they were transported out of Karachi, Pakistan on a fishing boat, but Dhawan intended to abandon the mission after the fishing boat was turned back to Karachi by the Pakistan Navy. Mishra convinced Dhawan and the others not to abandon the RAW agents, reminding them of the pain felt after the 2008 Mumbai attacks, and the brave efforts of the two agents. Ultimately, the submarine was able to rescue Mistry, but Dhawan and Mishra were saddened to find that Khan had been killed before he could be rescued.