DONGRI TO DUBAI S. HUSSAIN ZAIDI SIX DECADES OF THE MURDER MAFIA Foreword By VIKRAM CHANDRA DONGRITO DU B A I S.H U SSA IN ZA IDI SIXDECA DES OF TH EM U RDERM A FIA FOREW ORD B YVIKRA M CH A NDRA By far the best book on the Mumbai mafia. Anil Kapoor If it wasn't for this book there would be no Shootout at Wadala. Sanjay Gupta Dedicated to my friends Dr Shabeeb Rizvi, Chandramohan Puppala, Mir Rizwan Ali Contents Foreword .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1 Preface .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 3 Introduction: Up, Close, and Personal .. .. .. .. .. .. 6 Part I 1. The Big D .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 13 2. In the Beginning: Bombay 1950–1960 .. .. .. .. .. 17 3. Bombay’sMidas .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 21 4. Madrasi Mobster .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 26 5. Tamil Alliance .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 32 6. Pathan Power .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 37 7. The Original Don: Baashu .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 43 8. The Star called David .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 48 9. The Baap of Dons .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 51 10. Of Young Turks .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 55 11. David versus Goliath .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 60 12. The First Blood .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 63 13. A Seed is Sown .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 68 14. Beginning of the Bloodshed .. .. .. .. .. .. 74 15. The Executioner .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 78 16. The Emergency .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 81 17. Mill Worker-Turned-Don .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 84 18. Pathan Menace .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 87 19. Mastan’sMasterstroke: The Truce .. .. .. .. .. 91 20. Dawood’sSmuggling Business .. .. .. .. .. .. 95 21. A Don in Love .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 99 22. Ageing Dons .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 101 23. Death of a Brother; Birth of a Gang War .. .. .. .. 104 24. Dawood’sCoronation .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 109 25. Mumbai’sHadley Chase .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 111 26. The Fallout .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 117 27. Mafia’sBollywood Debut .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 121 28. Pathan in Patharwali Building .. .. .. .. .. .. 123 29. Typewriter Thief: Rajan Nair .. .. .. .. .. .. 126 30. Pardesi Kills Pathan .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 129 31. Circle of Revenge .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 131 32. Rise of Chhota Rajan .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 134 33. Enfant Terrible: Samad Khan .. .. .. .. .. .. 138 34. Dawood’sBetter Half .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 144 35. Escape to Dubai .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 146 Part II 1. Making of an Empire .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 150 2. Wiping Out Rivals .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 157 3. Mafia’sMost Daring Operation .. .. .. .. .. .. 162 4. End of Dawood-Gawli Alliance .. .. .. .. .. .. 167 5. Shootout at Lokhandwala .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 172 6. JJ Shootout .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 177 7. Communal Strokes .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 183 8. Surrender Offer .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 190 9. Maal, Moll, or Mole? .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 193 10. Developments in Dubai .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 197 11. New D Company-HQ: Karachi, New CEO: Shakeel .. .. .. 203 12. Rise of the Minions .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 209 13. Shocking Bollywood .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 214 14. Peanuts That Proved Costly .. .. .. .. .. .. 219 15. Clandestine Coups .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 225 16. Tech That .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 230 17. Close Shave .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 236 18. The Art of Survival .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 240 19. Post 9/11 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 245 20. Not so Chori Chori Chupke Chupke .. .. .. .. .. 251 21. ‘Judge’Dawood .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 259 22. Carnival of Spies .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 263 23. Detained in Lisbon .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 269 24. The White Kaskar .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 272 25. Global Terrorist .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 276 26. Salem's Extradition .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 281 27. Boucher’sBotched Attempt .. .. .. .. .. .. 283 28. The Big D Makes the Forbes Cut .. .. .. .. .. .. 287 Epilogue .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 291 Sources .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 296 Acknowledgements .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 297 Foreword I first met S. Hussain Zaidi in the winter of 1997, when I had just begun writing a novel about the Mumbai underworld. I desperately needed help, and was lucky enough to have a sister who knew Hussain through their shared profession of journalism. So I met up with him at the cheerfully-named Bahar restaurant in the Fort area of Mumbai. I asked questions, and Hussain told me stories about greed and corruption, about shooters and their targets, and despite the chill that passed over my skin, I was aware of a rising swell of optimism—this guy was really, really good. I didn’t know that day that S. Hussain Zaidi would become a friend, an extraordinary inside informant about matters relating to crime and punishment, and my guide into the underworld. But that is exactly what happened. Over the next few years, as I wrote my novel, Hussain generously shared with me his vast knowledge, his canny experience, and his host of contacts. I can say with certainty that I would not have been able to write my book without his ever-ready help and advice. It makes me very happy that Hussain has finished his magnum opus, Dongri to Dubai, so that the general reader can now benefit from his expertise. This book does much more than narrate the saga of one man’s rise, it brings alive the entire culture of crime that has grown and formed itself over the last half century in India. And as much as we like to distance ourselves by pretending that the underworld exists quite literally under us, beneath us, the truth—as Hussain shows—is that we mingle with it every day. The influence of organized crime reaches into the economy, our polity, and everyday life. Yet, our knowledge of the intentions and operations of the players on all sides of the law is mostly a mixture of legend and conjecture. Our histories begin with a few names—Haji Mastan, Varadarajan, Karim Lala — imbued with dread, and continue with still others —Dawood, Chhota Rajan, Abu Salem—haloed with matinee glamour. What we have lacked is a narrative that provides both detail and perspective, that lays out the entire bloody saga of power-mongering, money, and murder. Dongri to Dubai is that necessary book, and more. It gives us an account that is vast in its scope and yet intimate in its understanding of motive and desire. Hussain moves us from the small gangs of early post-Independence India to the corporatizing consolidations of the eighties and through the sanguine street wars of the nineties; we better comprehend our present, with its abiding undercurrent of terror, if we follow the tangled, stranger-than- fiction history that puts an Indian gangster in a safe-house in Karachi, with a daughter married to the son of a national celebrity, and his coffers enriched by the bootleg sales of Mumbai movies to Pakistanis. Dongri to Dubai; Six Decades of Murder Mafia 1 Anthropologists like to use the phrase ‘thick description’ to describe an explanation of a behavior that also includes and explains context, so that the behavior becomes intelligible to an outsider. For most readers, I think, reading Dongri to Dubai will at first feel like a journey into an alien landscape with a trustworthy, experienced guide; by the end though Hussain has made us see, helped us to comprehend, and we recognize this terrain as our own world, and we understand— but don’t necessarily forgive—its inhabitants. I am grateful for this book. The work that Hussain does is exacting and sometimes dangerous. Reporting about these deadly intrigues and the human beings caught within them is not for the faint of heart; the web stretches from your corner paan-shop to the bleak heights on which the Great Game is played, and there are many casualties. We all profit from Hussain’s intrepid investigations. Vikram Chandra Mumbai, December 2011 Dongri to Dubai; Six Decades of Murder Mafia 2 Preface Dongri to Dubai: Six Decades of the Mumbai Mafia has been my most complex and difficult project since I took to reporting on crime way back in 1995. The biggest challenge by far has been chronicling the history of the Mumbai underworld and keeping it interesting for lay readers as well as choosing incidents that marked an epoch in the Mumbai mafia. It was first suggested to me by a friend in 1997, when I was barely a couple of years into crime reporting, that I should try to write about the history of the Mumbai mafia; I was advised to replicate something like Joe Gould’s Secret. At the time, I had not even heard of the book; to be honest, I felt it was too colossal a responsibility for someone who was still wet behind the ears. But having put my ear to the ground for Black Friday, I felt ready for a bigger challenge. Initially, I set out to find out why so many Muslim youngsters from Mumbai were drawn to crime. Was it the aura of Dawood Ibrahim or was it economic compulsion that drew them? That was the question with which I started. And somewhere along the way, I ended up doing what my friend had asked me to do initially. When I set off on the story from Dongri, the metaphor was not lost on my friends. Am I guilty of linking members of a particular religion with crime? Unlike in the US, where exhaustive studies have been conducted on race and crime and their correlation, if any, there has been no serious debate or study on the causes that made Muslims prone to following a life of crime in the last fifty years. When I say Dongri, it is not just the area that starts from Mandvi near Zakaria Masjid but from Crawford Market to the end of JJ Hospital, covering Null Bazaar, Umerkhadi, Chor Bazaar, Kamathipura, and all the interweaving cloth and retail markets and masjids. Tracing the history of Mumbai, historian and researcher Sharada Dwivedi writes that the area was once a flatland and Dongri