Behind Bar In Byculla
In 2011, crime reporter Jigna Vora was arrested in connection to the murder of renowned journalist J. Dey. Seven years later, she was acquitted of all charges. This is her story in her own words—of the time she spent in jail and her experience of breaking many front-page stories. Her work brought her in contact with people like Himanshu Roy, the former ADGP of Maharashtra, while her time in jail put her in the company of Pragya Thakur, Jaya Chedda and many others. Her experiences reveal the intricate web of power dynamics that govern the inmates of a prison.
Jigna Vora is a crime reporter who has worked at Free Press Journal, Mid-day, Mumbai Mirror and Asian Age.
Bihar Diaries
Bihar Diaries narrates the thrilling account of how Amit Lodha arrested Samant Pratap, one of Bihar’s most feared ganglords, notorious for extortion, kidnapping and the massacre of scores of people. The book follows the adrenaline-fuelled chase that took place across three states during Amit’s tenure as superintendent of police of Shekhpura, a sleepy mofussil town in Bihar.
How does Amit navigate between his many professional challenges and conquer his demons? What does he do when the gangland comes after his family? Bihar Diaries captures vividly the battle of nerves between a dreaded outlaw and a young, urbane IPS officer.
Amit Lodha is an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer presently holding the rank of inspector general (IG) of police. Over the course of his career, he has been a part of a number of successful operations, including the arrest of gangsters and rescue of kidnap victims. He has been awarded the prestigious President’ s Police Medal for Meritorious Service, the Police Medal for Gallantry and the Internal Security Medal for his work. Amit enjoys playing tennis and squash, and is an ardent fan of Kishore Kumar. He regularly writes for the Times of India blog. He can be reached on Facebook and Twitter.
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.
Dawood’s Mentor
About Dawood’s Mentor
Tired of being bullied, a scrawny, impoverished Dawood Ibrahim is looking for a saviour, Khalid Khan Bachcha, who would teach him the ropes of handling a bunch of hooligans. Instead, what he gets is a mentor who eventually transforms him into a cunning mafia boss.
In Dawood’s Mentor, Dawood meets Khalid and they eventually forge an unlikely friendship. Together they defeat, crush and neutralize every mafia gang in Mumbai. Khalid lays the foundation for the D-Gang as Dawood goes on to establish a crime syndicate like no other and becomes India’s most wanted criminal.
Dial D for Don
About the book
March 1993. Mumbai was rocked by a series of bomb blasts. Unknown to most, Dawood Ibrahim, the mastermind behind the terror attack, had made several calls to the CBI. The don was desperate to prove his ‘innocence’ by giving himself up, but with conditions.
October 1999. The world’s very first case of cricket match-fixing led to the banning of six top Indian cricketers, including the then team captain. It was only in 2013, after the then commissioner of police revived the case, that a charge sheet was filed in a court of law.
January 2002. Aftab Ansari-a notorious Dubai-based don responsible for kidnapping a shoe baron in 2001 with the help of Jihadi groups in Pakistan-was arrested just as he was about to escape Dubai on a forged passport to Pakistan.
All these cases of life-threatening moments and unbelievable relief, involved the sharp investigative skills of an Indian Police Service officer then serving in the CBI. In his thirty-seven years of service, Neeraj Kumar neutralized several terror modules and decimated insidious organized crime syndicates spanning continents, working closely with Interpol, FBI, Scotland Yard and several national and international agencies. Much decorated and feted, he hung up his boots in 2013, after his last calling as Delhi’s police commissioner. He has now decided that the inside details of what have been some of the most fascinating crime stories of our times must not go unheard and untold.
The book covers several high-profile cases cracked by him in recent years, including the arrest and deportation of Aftab Ansari, the main accused in the shooting at the American Center in Kolkata, the nabbing of Jagtar Singh Tara, the man behind Punjab CM Beant Singh’s assassination, and the arrest of Romesh Sharma, a Dawood henchman masquerading as a politician based in Delhi.
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.
ESCAPED
About
ESCAPED : True Stories of Indian Fugitives in London
LONDON CALLING
London has emerged as a safe haven for those who want to escape the law in India. Through eyewitness accounts and archival records, DANISH KHAN and RUHI KHAN delve into twelve extraordinary cases of extradition over seven decades to unravel the legal quagmire that has caused much debate in Her Majesty’s courts, and consternation in New Delhi’s corridors of power.
Escaped examines the extradition of billionaire VIJAY MALLYA and diamantaire NIRAV MODI, throws a spotlight on their ultra-luxe world, uncovers the complex ownership of their UK assets and brings to life the intense courtroom battles. The book also chronicles the saga of cricket bookie SANJEEV CHAWLA, now dispatched to India, and that of music director NADEEM SAIFI, who has been exonerated but can never return home. It explores how drug lord IQBAL MIRCHI and terror accused HANIF PATEL evaded extradition, and investigates the loopholes that saved convicted paedophile RAYMOND VARLEY and NRI parents ARTI DHIR and KAVAL RAIJADA, accused of murdering their adopted child. The book reveals the inside story of how RAVI SHANKARAN, the alleged spy, was set free, and how the famed NARANG BROTHERS were snagged for trading in stolen Indian artefacts. Taking a trip through history, the book recounts how a newly independent India managed to bring back two powerful industrialists, DHARMA JAYANTI TEJA and MUBARAK ALI AHMED, who were involved in financial crimes.
Escaped decodes why London is an irresistible siren for Indian fugitives.
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.
Khaki Files
December 13, 2001: Pak-based terrorists carry out an audacious attack on the Indian Parliament killing eight security personnel and a gardener; all five terrorists are killed in their gun-battle with policemen deployed at the citadel of Indian democracy; the case is solved and all accused arrested within 72 hours.
December 16, 2012: a 23-year-old physiotherapist is brutally gang raped in a moving bus in Delhi; the case is cracked within five days despite the lack of initial leads; a head constable loses his life in the line of duty during riots that follow the dastardly crime.
In Khaki Files, Neeraj Kumar, a former Delhi Police Commissioner revisits many such high profile police cases of his career —from investigation of one of the biggest lottery frauds in the country to foiled ISI attempt to kill Tarun Tejpal and Anirudh Behal of Tehalka—bringing to light numerous achievements of the country’s police force, otherwise largely reviled and ridiculed
Neeraj Kumar is the former Commissioner of Police, Delhi, and the author of Dial D for Don: Inside Stories of CBI Missions.
Neeraj Kumar is the former Commissioner of Police, Delhi, and the author of Dial D for Don: Inside Stories of CBI Missions.
Life In The Uniform
About The Book
Amit Lodha is a decorated IPS officer holding the rank of inspector general. But before he rose the ranks in the service, he was an IIT graduate who was struggling to find his true purpose. In this book, Lodha tells us how he turned his life around and studied for the UPSC exams. He also tells us how he trained to be an officer and had the most memorable beginning to his career, in Bihar.
Punctuated with his signature humour and adventure-packed stories on everything from solving a kidnapping to handling a mob, Life in the Uniform gives us a chance to experience an IPS officer’s life through his own eyes.
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.
Me against The Mumbai Underworld
On some days, you are no less than Sherlock Holmes. But on others, you are just a regular policeman on bundobast duty.
Me against the Mumbai Underworld is the story of Isaque Bagwan, three-time recipient of the President’s Police Medal for Gallantry and a small-town boy who pursued his big-city dreams and ambitions as an upright police officer. Bagwan, who is credited with carrying out the first encounter in the history of Mumbai Police, was witness to several of the city’s defining moments-the 1980s when smuggling was at an all- time high, the blasts that tore through Bombay in the ’90s, the gang wars that marked the city, and the devastating 26/11 terror attack. His life, which has captured the imagination of many writers and filmmakers, is presented here with all its gut-wrenching details.
Isaque Ibrahim Bagwan retired as an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) in May 2009 after serving in Mumbai Police for over thirty-five years. He was awarded the prestigious President’s Police Medal for Gallantry thrice. As per Mumbai Police records, he is the first officer from the force to have killed a criminal in an encounter. He is also the first police officer to shoot at and apprehend a criminal during proceedings in a sessions court in Mumbai.
Bagwan was also praised for his quick thinking and valour, which saved hundreds of lives, by the Pradhan Committee Report that looked into the 26/11 terror attack. He had taken charge of Nariman House during the deadly attack and restricted the terrorists’ movements for over sixteen hours with just twelve men. He also assisted in ensuring the safety of people in the buildings around Nariman House until NSG commandos arrived.
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 Anatomy of Sting
Bhupen Patel has conducted many undercover operations over the course of his career. He’s exposed all sorts of rackets, from mental asylums admitting patients without proper medical examinations to discovering an illegal network of agents that arrange ‘temporary ‘ wives for Arab men looking to have a short fling. This book recounts in detail some of his most dramatic and hard-hitting stings. Patel takes us through the entire process of a sting and reveals the amount of hard work it takes to not just uncover a story that requires further discreet investigation but also gather enough evidence to bring it to the notice of the public and authorities concerned. Each account will keep you on the edge of your seat and allow a glimpse into the life of an investigative journalist.
Bhupen Patel is a journalist with nearly two decades of experience at Mid-Day, Mumbai Mirror and NDTV. He now heads the crime-reporting team at Mid-Day.
The Bhais of Bengaluru
A peek into Bengaluru’s underworld.
For years, organized crime in Bengaluru has been dominated by shrewd and notorious dons who grew from small-time extortionists to dreaded names in the real estate circles. In Bhais of Bengaluru, Jyoti Shelar explores this mysterious and fascinating underbelly of India’s Garden City.
For years, organized crime in Bengaluru has been dominated by shrewd and notorious dons who grew from small-time extortionists to dreaded names in the real estate circles. In Bhais of Bengaluru, Jyoti Shelar explores this mysterious and fascinating underbelly of India’s Garden City.