The concept of contract killers took shape in 1969 when Haji Mastan, known to be a smuggler, hired two professionals from Pakistan to bump off his arch enemy.
The concept of contract killers took shape in 1969 when Haji Mastan, known to be a smuggler, hired two professionals from Pakistan to bump off his arch enemy and business rival Yusuf Patel.
At the time, the smuggling of gold and silver was at its peak. Apparently, a smugglers’ syndicate, led by the Pakistan-based brothers, Abdul and Majid, joined Mastan to broaden its base in the subcontinent.
The development gave Mastan the upper hand and his illegal business reportedly flourished. The story goes that Yusuf Patel retaliated by hiring goons to loot Mastan’s consignments. But his attempts were thwarted by Mastan, who hired the services of Karim Lala and his band of Pathans to protect his loot.
Patel is said to have tried another route and started providing information about Mastan’s landings to Customs officials. The Customs men raided Mastan and seized contraband worth crores.
Mastan apparently decided to kill Patel, and contacted the Pakistani Bhatti brothers, who sent across two contract killers, who were provided with arms and set on Patel’s trail.
Patel got wind of the plot and beefed up his security. He would change his location several times a day, always surrounded by 10-12 men.
But on November 22, 1969, Patel was spotted at a restaurant near Minara Masjid, Mohammed Ali Road. It was the month of Ramzan and he had just finished his late evening prayer.
Two men broke through the crowd and opened fire. Patel was hit by two bullets, but survived. Policemen and some locals chased after the assailants and finally caught one of them near Bhendi Bazaar.
During interrogation, the cops were surprised to find that the man was a Pakistani national and had been hired to kill Patel. With information from him, the cops managed to arrest the other killer as well.
That incident is remembered for two reasons: the hiring of contract killers, and the use of fire-arms for the first time.
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