Underworld awakening 2.0

For more than half a decade, there was a marked lull in gangland-related crimes in the country’s financial capital, but over the past two months, there has been a sudden spurt in arrests related to extortion rackets being run by gangsters.

The most noteable was of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim’s brother Iqbal Kaskar in an extortion case in September. The investigations in the case have, since then, revealed that not only Kaskar but Dawood himself, their brother Anees and Dawood’s right hand man, Chhota Shakeel, too were pulling the strings of the racket.

Shortly after Kaskar’s arrest, more underworld-related cases surfaced in Mumbai and Thane. These involved gangsters Ravi Pujari and DK Rao. That these underworld hangs had been targeting builders and jewellers was the common thread in their cases.

While the surge may seem sudden, a closer look shows that the offences were actually committed over the past six to seven years, prompting the question — were the police oblivious to active extortion rackets?

A counter argument doing the rounds in higher police circles is that the new cases may just be a fall out of one-up manship after the Thane police stole the spotlight from their more illustrious Mumbai counterparts with the high-profile arrest of Kaskar.

Added to the mix is the return of a former encounter specialist who had been dismissed from the state police. Inspector Pradeep Sharma had been dismissed from service in 2008 for alleged links to the Dawood Ibrahim gang and for his alleged role in the Lakhan Bhaiya fake encounter case.

In a curious turn of events, Sharma’s first move on resuming service has been to go after the very gang he was accused of being in cahoots with. On being reinstated on August 16, Sharma, who has 113 encounters to his name, and was once part of Mumbai Police’s elite encounter squad, initially reported to the office of the Director General of Police before he was posted to head the Thane Police’s Anti-Extortion Cell (AEC).

A month later Sharma, along with 25 other policemen from Thane Police, stormed into the Nagpada residence of Kaskar and took him into custody for his alleged role in an extortion case registered by the AEC.

This, insiders in the state police say, served as the fuel for a new tussle between the Mumbai and Thane Police. Officers from Mumbai Police, who did not wish to be named, claimed that due procedures were not followed.

Meanwhile, the Thane Police made sensational claims after interrogating Kaskar. According to them, two real estate agents — Israr Ali Jamil Sayed (52) and Mumtaj Izaj Shaikh (48) — extorted builders in Thane at Kaskar’s behest.

“Not only Kaskar, but Chhota Shakeel too was involved in the racket. Later we registered a few more cases involving Kaskar, Shakeel, Anees and Dawood. Their modus operandi was to threaten builders and take flats, apart from cash, through extortion. As many as 20 builders from Thane and neighbouring cities were being threatened by the group,” said a Thane police officer.

On October 7, the Thane Police nabbed two shooters — Dinesh Narayan Rai (51) and Nitin Gopal Rai (42) — who allegedly worked for the Pujari gang.

Five days later, the Mumbai Police’s Criminal Intelligence Unit (CIU) arrested DK Rao, a former Chhota Rajan henchman, in an extortion case.

Last year, 41 persons were arrested by the Mumbai Police in Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA)-related cases, of which four were linked to Dawood Ibrahim’s gang, statistics from Mumbai Police show. The statistics also indicate that the Hemant Pujari, Arun Gawli, Pandav Putra and Kumar Pillai gangs had been lying dormant from 2014 to 2016.

“Underworld activities are under control and there is no spurt in cases. We keep a continuous tab on gang members and gangs,” said Sanjay Saxena, Joint Commissioner of Police, Crime.

“The recent cases are not new but the complainants were not coming forward. Underworld activities are not as they used to be earlier,” said Parambir Singh, Thane Police Commissioner.

According to retired state police officers, underworld gangs are focusing on the real estate market in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and mediate cases of disputed properties. While in some cases they earn commissions, in others they extort money from builders, developers and jewellers using strong arm tactics.

“Earlier victims were forced at gun-point. Now, the gangs have real estate agents working for them. These agents scout for new projects and disputed properties and then drop names of their masters to threaten the builders. Kaskar would then himself them call up the victims to assure them that the threat was real,” said a police officer.

“The underworld cannot be totally wiped out, it will remain in some or the other form. Though they will not always be violent operations, gangs will remain active in some or other form,” said a retired IPS officer.

TIMELINE

2008
Inspector Pradeep Sharma dismissed from service

2016
Mumbai Police registered five cases under MCOCA

2016

• 41
  persons were arrested by Mumbai Police Of which
   
• 4
  were linked to Dawood Ibrahim’s gang

2014 to 2016
Hemant Pujari, Arun Gawli, Pandav Putra and Kumar Pillai gangs had been lying dormant.

• August 16, 2017 Inspector Sharma makes a comeback to the force
   
• September 18, 2017 Iqbal Kaskar’s arrest
   
• October 7, 2017 Thane Police nabs two shooters — Dinesh Narayan Rai (51) and Nitin Gopal Rai (42) — allegedly of the Ravi Pujari gang
   
• October 12, 2017 Mumbai Police’s CIU arrested DK Rao

The underworld cannot be totally wiped out. Though they will not always be violent operations, gangs will remain active in some or other form.
— A retired IPS officer

The underworld has not stopped functioning. The underworld had changed its style of functioning. The complainants were not reporting to the police due to which the cases did not come to light.
— Pradeep Sharma, Inspector

WANTED GANGSTERS

DAWOOD IBRAHIM
Born on December 26, 1955 to a police head constable in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra; Ibrahim belongs to the Konkani Muslim community. His career started with crime in Karim Lala’s gang. He started his D-Company and his business empire straddles in UAE, India and Pakistan. He organised and financed the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, becoming India’s most wanted man. In the 1980s Dawood was first arrested for a robbery case and later his crimes increased. Dawood was mostly involved in drug trafficking and providing transportation for illegal activities.

ANEES IBRAHIM
Dawood Ibrahim’s brother and 1993 Mumbai blasts accused Anees joined the D-company after the killing of his elder brother Shabbir Ibrahim and took charge after Dawood moved to the UAE in 1984. He controlled the D-company’s illegal businesses. Since 1986, he spent much of his time building up the network’s over ground assets and started investing in Mumbai real estate and businesses. After the 1993 blasts he fled to Pakistan. He presided over the D-company’s diversification into narcotics, contract killings and money laundering. He faced cases of extortion, murder and other heinous crimes in Mumbai and other parts of the country.

HEMANT PUJARI
Hemant Pujari was a waiter in the early part of his life and a Class XII dropout. He started as a small-time hoodlum in the mid-90s in the Nirmal Nagar slums of Khar by committing robberies and attacking rivals. He later got in touch with members of the Chhota Rajan gang who recruited him as a shooter. In November 1999, he shot to fame after the murder of builder Shaukat Sarkar. He was part of Rajan’s core team and broke away from him around 2002 to work on his own. Hoteliers and film personalities were Pujari’s prime targets and his area of operation was between Bandra and Dahisar.

GURUNATH NARHARI SATAM
One of Mumbai’s biggest extortionists who looted many businessmen is popularly known as Guru Satam. He fled the country in 1995 and has been said to be residing in Asian countries. He has also threatened many Bollywood personalities and expanded his extortion activities in the metro. After his spat with Dawood Ibrahim, Satam joined hands with Chhota Rajan and became a force to reckon with in the underworld. Apparently he deceived Chhota Rajan to Shakeel in 2002 which resulted in Rajan being attacked. He was allegedly responsible for arranging the killing of labour leader Datta Samant in 1997.

CHHOTA SHAKEEL
Shakeel Babumiya Shaikh is popularly known as Chhota Shakeel. Just like his mentor Dawood, he has been involved in all criminal activities ranging from murder and extortion to gunrunning but he was a specialist in extortions with the big money-spinning industry of Bollywood being his favourite hunting ground. Dawood Ibrahim had restructured D Company in 2008 and made Chhota Shakeel CEO of the company.

RAVI PUJARI
Ravi Pujari is a school dropout but speaks several languages including English, Hindi, Kannada and Tulu. He started his criminal career from Andheri in mid-1990s and he only targets film personalities and businessmen of western suburbs in Mumbai. Initially he was a small-time criminal before he joined gangster Chhota Rajan and moved to Dubai in late-1990s. After that he started extorting builders and hoteliers. He wanted to make his own name in the underworld and so separated from Rajan around a decade ago and operates his own gang.

EJAZ LAKDAWALA
An ex-student of Bandra’s St Stanislaus School, Ejaz Lakdawala started out as an employee in his uncle’s transport company. In 1993, he killed one Haren Mehta during an altercation at a cricket match. He was arrested, imprisoned and acquitted in 1995. In prison, he met one Sunil Madgaonkar alias Matya who gave Lakdawala supari to kill alleged Chhota Shakeel aide Farid Rajji. Rajji survived the attempt on his life in 1996 and Lakdawala was arrested and sent to Nashik jail, from where he escaped in 1998 and fled to Malaysia. He later joined Chhota Rajan and later formed his own gang.

GANGSTERS DEPORTED AND EXTRADITED TO INDIA

Chhota Rajan alias Rajendra Sadashiv Nikalje
Chhota Rajan was deported to India on November 6, 2015 from Indonesia by a joint team headed by CBI officials for facing trial in over 70 cases of murder, extortion and drug smuggling against him in Delhi and Mumbai.

Mustafa Dossa alias Mustafa Majnu
Mohammed Mustafa Dossa alias Mustafa Majnu is an associate of fugitive don Dawood Ibrahim and accused in the 1993 serial bomb blasts. He was deported from Dubai on March 20, 2003. Dossa, one of the convicts in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, died in June 2017 at JJ Hospital where he was admitted following high fever and hypertension.

Ejaz Pathan
Ejaz Pathan, a former close associate of Dawood Ibrahim, was deported from Dubai on February 19, 2003. He was arrested for his alleged complicity in the 1993 serial bomb blasts and a few cases of murder. Pathan, who was convicted in the 1993 blast case, died in 2007 after a prolonged ailment.

Santosh Shetty
Santosh Shetty, a former close aide of Chhota Rajan, was arrested in Bangkok on August 11, 2011 and was later deported to India. He separated from Chhota Rajan in 2004 and formed his own gang, after which he was actively involved in extortions, kidnapping and contract killings.

Anil Parab alias ‘Vangya’
Anil Parab alias ‘Vangya’ is an alleged member of Dawood Ibrahim’s gang and wanted in several criminal cases including murder and attempt to murder. He was deported from Dubai on April 20, 2003.

Tariq Parveen
Tariq Parveen, an aide of Dawood Ibrahim, was deported from Dubai on 19 July, 2004. He was involved in the Sara Sahara illegal shopping complex case.

Abu Salem alias Aqil Ahmed Azmi, Captain and Abu Samaan
Abu Salem, an accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case and several cases of extortion and murder against him was extradited from Portugal on November 11, 2005, after a prolonged legal battle.

Kumar Pillai
Wanted gangster Kumar Pillai, held in Singapore in February, was brought to the country on June 27, 2016, after the formalities of his extradition were successfully completed. The gangster has several cases against him in Mumbai, including murder, attempt to murder and extortion. Before fleeing Mumbai in the 1990s, Pillai was arrested only once and later jumped bail.

Prakash alias Bunty Pandey
Chhota Rajan’s former henchman Prakash alias Bunty Pandey was extradited from Vietnam to Mumbai on November 3, 2010 and then brought to Delhi in connection with an extortion case. Pandey was allegedly associated with Chhota Rajan and later parted with him. He is also said to have made extortion calls to Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan. Pandey, along with Rajan, was allegedly involved in several murders including that of managing director of East-West Airlines Thakiyuddin Wahid.