Black friday
About the book
On the afternoon of 12 March 1993, a series of explosions cut a swathe of terror and destruction through Bombay. The toll: 257 killed or missing, 713 injured, and a city in a shambles.
In Black Friday, S. Hussain Zaidi takes us into the heart of the conspiracy which spanned several countries, and the massive investigation that ensued. A product of four years of meticulous research, the book gives chilling insights into the criminal mind, through interviews with close associates of Dawood Ibrahim and Tiger Memon, among others. The characters we meet are compelling: the terrorists, the corrupt law enforcement agents who abetted the plot, the investigators who would stop at nothing, and, above all, the people of Bombay of whose resilient spirit this book is a celebration.
Byculla To Bangkok
About the book
The underworld has new faces, working for and against Dawood Ibrahim, the shadowy, manipulative figure who pulls its strings. Dawood’s own deputy-turned-arch rival Chhota Rajan, thug-turned-politician Arun Gawli, Amar (Raavan) Naik and his engineer brother Ashwin Naik, and a host of other characters, big and small, walk the pages of this compelling history of the Maharashtrian mobsters who were once dubbed ‘amchi muley'(our boys) by former Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray. Also included are fascinating stories of the famous — and infamous — policemen and ‘encounter specialists’ who took on the gangs with great success and not many scruples.
Meticulously researched and thrillingly told by the acclaimed authority on the underworld, this brand new paperback edition of Byculla to Bangkok captures the humble beginnings of organized crime mafias that held Mumbai to ransom through the last decades of the twentieth century.
Dangerous Mind
Dangerous Minds
What makes terrorists so deadly? Are they brain washed or wrongly wired? These eight profiles of homegrown terrorists will debunk you of the notion about terrorists being trained in some jungles. Some of these men lead very ordinary and simple lives but for years they had been leading a double life with their subversive actions.
Dongri to Dubai: Six Decades of the Mumbai Mafia
About
Dongri to Dubai:
Six Decades of the Mumbai Mafia
Describing the roots of the Mumbai Mafia and its genesis into what it has become today, the book revolves around the life of Dawood Ibrahim. Some of the other gangsters that share the spotlight with Dawood in the book are Chhota Rajan, Karim Lala, Abu Salem, Haji Mastan and Varadarajan Mudaliar. The stories of each of these hooligans have been detailed along with the list of their illegal actions.
Talking about the Mumbai mafia’s history through the last six decades, the book takes a deep plunge into the life of the most famous goon in the nation, Dawood. His story from his days in Dongri, Mumbai to his rise to becoming the international terrorist that is known as today has been described. Dawood’s craving for power, his unaltered focus and his astute mind and tactics have been discussed along with the descriptions of his first robbery, his youth and his love affairs.
Political connections and international links have been scrutinized in this book along with some unknown facts, unreported crimes, events and stories that have not been covered before. The book was also adapted into a Bollywood movie and is available in paperback.
Eleventh Hour
The Eleventh Hour
Introducing India’s most intrepid intelligence officers Vikrant Singh and Shahawaz Ali Mirza who thwart a dreaded terrorist from leaking secrets from a naval server in Lakshwadeep. From From jail break in Bhopal to high octane action in Maharashtra, the book keeps the readers on their toes.
Headley and I
Headley and I
When a weird looking foreigner with two different eye colour befriends Rahul Bhatt, the embittered son of Bollywood movie Moghul, Mahesh Bhatt, the gullible young man is almost drawn to him under the assumption that David Headley is just another American. It took the 2009 Mumbai attack to reveal that David Headley was really Daood Gilani who had scoured and secured the targets for the fidayeen terrorists. Rahul Bhatt suddenly finds himself as a person of interest as intelligence agencies pick him up for sustained interrogation.
Mafia Queens Of Mumbai
About
Mafia Queens Of Mumbai
Stories of women from the ganglands
Mafia Queens of Mumbai: Stories of women from the ganglands is an Indian 2011 non-fiction crime novel written by Hussain Zaidi with original research by reporter Jane Borges. It tells 13 true stories of women who were involved in criminal activities in Mumbai.
The Mumbai underworld, or the Mumbai Mafia is as much a part of the city as Bollywood is, and as much a stuff of legends. The well known stories from this murky world are all male-centric. Haji Mastan, Dawood Ibrahim, Varadarajan Mudaliar, and Karim Lala, to name a few.
But, there were women who ruled the roost there too, women who remained in the background and pulled the strings, women who acted as mentors and advisers to the famous dons, women who were wives of the dons and then took over when their husbands were killed, women who assumed leadership to try and bring down rival leaders who had harmed their family.
Their stories are varied and just as intriguing, and hitherto untold. But these stories are well known in the ganglands of Mumbai. This book now brings together a set of stories about interesting and powerful female leaders of the Mumbai underworld.
There is the story of Gangubhai, a girl who ran away from a small village and ended up in Mumbai streets and eventually became the powerful matriarch of Kamathipura, Mumbai’s red light area.
Ashraf, who learnt of her husband’s underworld connection only after he was killed, transformed herself into the powerful Sapna Didi, to try and take down her husband’s killer.
Mrs. Paul and Rubina Sayyed, associates of Chota Shakeel, Tarannum Khan, a bar dancer who became rich through cricket betting, and more such stories.
But, the most intriguing story is probably about the very powerful Jenabhai, who was closely associated with many underworld dons like Haji Mastan, Varadarajan Mudaliar, Dawood Ibrahim etc, and advised them on various matters and helped in shaping important events in the underworld.
Mumbai Avengers
About the book
Five years after 26/11 – the siege of terror in Mumbai that brought the country to its knees – India still seeks justice.
The terrorists who planned it have disappeared into the darkness they emerged from and Mumbai seethes with fury. All the Indian government has achieved is the establishment of counter-terrorism committees. But one man will stop at nothing in his quest to avenge the dastardly act.
Retired Lt Gen. Sayed Ali Waris of the Indian army masterminds a covert mission with a team of daredevil agents: a sharp policeman, a suave tech expert, a cerebral scientist and two battle-hardened army officers. They strike like lightning even as they are pursued by the Pakistani army and the ISI, combing through every land and possibility in pursuit of the deadly killers. From Sweden to Istanbul, through Dubai, Pakistan and Singapore, they annihilate the perpetrators with single-minded focus, veiling the deaths as natural ones to save the Indian government diplomatic and political embarrassment.
The stakes have never been higher. This is a nifty, edge-of-your seat thriller with an intricate plot and jaw-dropping twists. As Waris and his team navigate untold dangers towards a nail-biting climax, will Mumbai finally be avenged?
My Name is Abu Salem
My Name is Abu Salem
In the mid and late nineties, as two leading mafia gangs are busy involved in an internecine warfare on streets of Mumbai, a novice from Azamgarh steps into the picture to make his place in the mafia sun. He makes Mumbai his home and succeeds in wooing an actress, Monica Bedi, who leaves the world of glitz and glamour to follow him to Portugal. Abu Salem’s wings were however clipped when the Indian government caught up with him.
The Class of 83
About the book
At a time when Mumbai was plagued by underworld gangsters like Dawood Ibrahim, Iqbal Kaskar and Chhota Rajan, the batch of 1983 from the Police Training School (PTC) in Nashik-trained by the legendary Arvind Inamdar-produced a group of prominent encounter specialists who have been credited with bringing back the rule of law in the city.
Famed even within this batch, trigger-happy senior police inspector Pradeep Sharma understood that to save the city from the clutches of the underworld, he would need to dilute rival gangs. The Class of 83 delves deep into the most famous (or infamous) encounters conducted by Sharma and his batch mates. Pradeep Sharma was arrested by the same department he had served for two-and-a-half decades. He faced the ignominy of jail, clubbed in the same cell as the criminals he had arrested. However, he fought for his honour, was acquitted and reinstated into service.
In The Class of 83, S. Hussain Zaidi presents a one-of-a-kind story of a policeman’s triumphs, struggles and redemption.
The Endgame
The Endgame
About the book
It’s been three years since Shahwaz Ali Mirza and Vikrant Singh foiled dreaded terrorist Munafiq’s attempt to leak State secrets from a naval server in Lakshadweep. Now posted with RAW, they have the task of providing security for BSF Special Director General Somesh Kumar, on his way to visit former Prime Minister Parmeshwar Naidu, who has been hospitalized after a car accident. However, Kumar’s convoy is attacked by terrorists. They manage to kill him before being gunned down themselves. A tip-off leads the duo to a hotel on Mira Road where the prime suspect, Al Muqadam, is hiding. Vikrant recognizes him as Ayyub, the brother of one of his long-time informants, Mazhar Khan. Just when it looks like things can’t get more difficult, Major Daniel Fernando gets in touch claiming that there is more to Naidu’s accident than meets the eye. Soon, the entire team from the Lakshadweep operation finds itself getting together for a new mission…
Zero Day
It is their first brush with cyberterrorism: a zero-day vulnerability in the Indian government’s system that could bring the country to its knees. Racing against time and investigating a case unlike any other, in Zero Day, Mirza and Vikrant face the most dangerous mission of their lives.