Married hopelessly to the mob

For those who believe a woman’s relationship with violence ends at the chopping board, police records have a word or two to say. The arrest of Sujata Nikhalje, wife of absconding don Chhota Rajan, and the deportation of Abu Salem’s girlfriend Monica Bedi have brought us on the roles wives of dons play in the largely male-dominated underworld.

More and more women are apparently storming the male-dominated underworld. About a fortnight ago, don Guru Satam’s wife Laxmi Soni alias Lakka was arrested on charges of travelling on a fake passport.

The police say Suresh Manchekar’s wife and mother were running his syndicate even before the don’s death. They allegedly looked after the finances of the gang and kept the extortion racket oiled, apart from recruiting people. Both are in jail now.

Psychologists refuse to attribute any particular biological or psychological to the phenomenon. “Dons’ wives are victims of their destiny,” says Satya Pal Singh, inspector general of police, Konkan range. “When a woman marries a criminal or a don knowing very well his background, they are destined to suffer.”

Police sources say don’s wives seldom work beyond the instructions of their husbands. But after a mobster dies, their wives and partners have been known to often take over and competently run their empires.

From Phoolan Devi to Santokben Jadeja and Amina Bi to Sujata aka Nani, women have proved that if needed, they can wield guns and set up their own fiefdom.

Some join gangs for the power of the gun while others lead a life of crime by compulsion. There are many instances where wives or mistresses of small-time criminals have joined ranks with their men just to prove their love and loyalty.

As one browses down the history of local crime, one finds that the two wives of Karim Lala were never seen in public barring at closed-door family functions, that too in a ‘purdah’. Very few had seen the wife of Vardarajan Mudaliar. The only time she would appear in public was during the Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations.

The lone exception was small-time actress Sona — the mistress of Haji Mastan — who attended film functions.

Among the younger lot, Dawood Ibrahim’s wife never made any public appearances. Though his close associates used to visit his mansion named White House in Dubai, the woman of the house was always behind ‘purdah’.

This trend probably has something to do with divergent social ethos — the Muslim wives seemed more conservative and introverted while the Hindu ones were more extrovert and outgoing.

Slain gangster Amar Naik’s wife Anjali tried hard to run the gang after her husband’s death but failed. Ashwin Naik’s wife Nita became a corporator against her husband wishes and was subsequently gunned down.

During the days when don turned MLA Arun Gawli was externed from the city for two years, his wife Asha (has changed religion and name) held the flag aloft at Dagdi Chawl.

But all these women kept a safe distance from the keepers of the law. Sujata, it seems, has broken unwritten barrier. It is still to be seen how her husband, Rajan reacts to the development.