Dawood's Mentor

by S. Hussain Zaidi

  After green-lighting the idea, Sabir roped in members of the Young Party and joined Dawood’s new project. For the first time, a criminal gang had been fashioned out of a sociopolitical group. The outfit eventually became notorious as the ‘Dawood–Sabir gang’, with Dawood’s name preceding Sabir’s because Dawood was involved hands-on while Sabir’s attention towards the business wavered often. Once entrenched in the gang, the young men landed several consignments. This was called ‘maal utarna’.

  The landings of smuggled goods took place at the Cuffe Parade quay, Shivaji Park beach, Versova, Chembur and the Vashi creek.

  But for a young man like Dawood the job soon began to pall. The group realized that their earnings were a fraction of what the kingpin was earning. It was Sabir who suggested that they should talk to Ibrahim Havildar’s friend Rashid Shaikh who had a lot of connections in the UAE and Kuwait. Rashid’s frequent trips to Dubai and his constant meetings with the Arab sheikhs had earned him the sobriquet of ‘Rashid Arba’. Rashid Arba also believed in the liberal use of foul language. Every sentence he spoke had a lot of abuses and expletives, so much so that people were often hesitant to talk to him.

  An arrogant man to the core, Arba would never have met Dawood and Sabir, who came from an impoverished background. But the Dongri grapevine was abuzz with the news that Antulay and Ibrahim Havildar were good friends. There was no way that Arba could refuse to meet the boys.

  During the several meetings that the brothers had with Arba, he lectured the Kaskar boys that they should learn to capitalize on their father’s friendship with Antulay. Both Sabir and Dawood were taken aback. What friendship? they thought to themselves. Their father’s station in life was a world apart from Antulay’s. Besides, they knew their father’s limitations. But they kept their thoughts to themselves.

  ‘Bombay coasts and landing corners are now under increased surveillance and constant watch by the police and the customs and DRI sleuths. It is now imperative to look for landing spots beyond Bombay that are safer and less complicated,’ Arba cautioned them. ‘Antulay’s constituency in Srivardhan is a coastal region. You have to simply boast of your father’s connections with Antulay, assert your clout and convert those jetties into landing spots,’ Arba said very casually.

  Since the boys were uninitiated in the art of smuggling, Arba was happy to share more information on the subject. ‘The village and district administration in the coastal areas of Konkan can be bought off easily. Which lowly clerk or officer would dare to antagonize a minister from the constituency? Are they going to check with Antulay?’ said Arba to reassure them.

  In all the time they had known Arba, this was the first time the brothers managed a faint smile.

  ‘Tumhare saath kaam karke kisi ka kya faayda hoga? Haan, agar tumnein kuch aise landing spots bana liye jo sirf tumhare honge aur uspar sirf tumhara maal utrega, toh tumhari monopoly ho jayegi market mein (Why would someone want to work with you unless you have some distinct advantage? You need to have a few landing spots of your own which will give you the edge of monopoly in the market).’ Arba fired them up.

  Before going to Antulay’s constituency, Sabir left for his village in Mumke in Ratnagiri district. He began work on capturing the various landing spots that could be exclusively theirs for the unhindered landing of electronics, gold biscuits, watches and other such contraband. Sabir got the influential people of several villages to ensure their tacit support to him. Being the eldest son of Ibrahim Havildar helped; besides, Sabir had a certain charm and persuasive powers, which his other brothers seriously lacked. Sabir’s gift of the gab could turn difficult situations in his favour. Sometimes he used the religion card, sometimes their common Konkani heritage and culture. In the end he made sure that the fishermen and other locals were on his side.

  After Mumke, Sabir and his boys went to Srivardhan and Mhasla to look for advantageous spots for their landing operations. Most of the jetties in Mhasla and Dighi (in the Raigad district) were easily usurped for their landings. The locals swore to help the Dawood–Sabir gang. The corrupt village administration and even some customs officers agreed to connive with them in the smuggling operations. Those who were not complicit were, of course, under the impression that the brothers were family friends of Antulay’s, and thought that if they messed with the boys, they would antagonize the minister.

  Sabir and Dawood were so clever about using the combined methods of coercion and corruption to have their way on their favoured landing spots that their rivals in Bombay were left scratching their heads for a long time. They could not figure out how the brothers had managed to acquire the spots so easily. After the first few landings, both brothers were ecstatic about their small triumph. These small successes ensured a few things. Dawood and Sabir became more confident of pulling off such feats consistently as they did not face any resistance from the local police or customs officials, an indication that the government machinery had been greased smoothly. And because the locals managed to make a handsome income through an operation that barely lasted a few hours, they built a long-lasting bond with Dawood and his brothers and were also subservient to them.

  Sabir and Dawood never publicly used Antulay’s name lest it backfire, but because everybody knew Ibrahim Kaskar was in Antulay’s camp, they decided to err on the side of caution. The coastal areas of Konkan are a couple of hours’ drive from Mumbai. When Sabir and Dawood fixed their landing spots there, they would never have anticipated how these locations would yield such rich dividends later and turn them into multibillionaires—and, on the flip side, how they would also spell doom for Dawood.

  Almost two decades later, in January 1993, when Tiger Memon, the brain behind the Bombay serial blasts of 12 March 1993, wanted to bring in a huge quantity of RDX and weapons from Pakistan, he knew that Dawood–Sabir’s landing spots would be the safest and also that he would need Dawood’s blessings to ensure that the villagers allowed the consignment to land in Raigad. The massive amount of contraband could only be smuggled into the city through the Raigad coasts. The locals ended up paying a heavy price for their loyalty to Dawood, along with several customs and police officials, who were later arrested and prosecuted.

  But way back in the late 1970s, it was inconceivable that these landing spots would be used for import of terror in the country. Dawood wanted to use it only for expanding and increasing his smuggling activities. He was only looking to increase his turnover by bringing in multiple consignments of gold and other contraband to augment his profits.

  Financing a consignment before it is shipped from Dubai or Singapore is a major hurdle for any smuggler in the city. Not many people would be willing to risk their funds for a consignment whose fate was hanging in the balance. In the case of established players like Haji Mastan, Yusuf Patel or Bashu Dada, they knew they could hedge their investment but Dawood was a late entrant and was yet to find his footing.

  Every motor launch that left the Dubai coasts carried goods worth over at least Rs 25–40 lakh. In those days it was a staggering amount, and it was not possible for one investor to singularly finance a transaction. So every consignment was jointly funded by numerous businessmen in the city. Rashid Arba was one such investor, but for some reason the Kaskar brothers did not like him. They were exploring options for other sponsors.

  It was at this juncture that Sabir came to the rescue, proving to be far more resourceful than Dawood ever expected. Sabir had the ability to always be enterprising and connect the dots. He had made inroads into the Marwari and Gujarati community while selling silver and gold to them. Some seths at the Kalbadevi bullion market were eating out of Sabir’s hands. They were doing business with Sabir more out of the love for lucre than the fear of his ruffian ways. In his inimitable style, Sabir had also managed romps with a couple of rich Marwari women. The alliances were short-lived though.

  His strongest business association was forged with Kamal Chadha of Colaba and his brother-in-law Mahendra Choradia, who had a huge sea-facing mansion i
n Worli. Chadha and Choradia were engaged in money laundering and other allied businesses. They gladly agreed to be venture capitalists for Dawood in an era where seed money was the lifeblood of smuggling. Years later, when Dawood was locked in an internecine gang war with his rivals, Choradia was brutally hacked to death by the Arun Gawli gang, as they knew his importance in the rise of Dawood’s criminal empire.

  With help from Choradia and his hawala set-up, Dawood had begun making a neat profit in the smuggling business. Sabir’s connections had immensely bolstered Dawood’s enterprise. The only lacunae in the whole plan was that it was lopsided. While he had stitched up all the loose ends at the Bombay side, he was totally at sea about the Dubai part. He wished he could bag a big deal directly from Dubai.

  Dawood needed a strong connection in Dubai. While the brothers were racking their brains, thinking every permutation and combination, Sabir came up with a lead: ‘Khalid Bhai ko bhul gaye (We forgot about Khalid Bhai).’

  It came to him in a flash. Dawood recalled that it was Khalid who had gone to Dubai and not only established a successful passage for silver from India but also convinced Bashu to get into gold smuggling. And how could he forget that Khalid was the first smuggler to deal in precious stones, which he got from Dubai.

  Dawood was convinced that Khalid was the man of the hour. His Dubai contacts were priceless. Khalid could help him with the Dubai end, which had been a blind spot for Dawood so far. He could learn a lot from Khalid.

  If he had to reign supreme in the smuggling business, then he had to convince Khalid to join forces with him.

  17

  Dawood’s Overtures

  Every time the character played by Randhir Kapoor gulps down his drink, Vijayendra Ghatge is quick to refill the glass with more liquor. The villain in Ghatge wants Kapoor to get drunk beyond his senses. Actually, the drinking binge is a prelude to a macabre murder plot. Ghatge wants to bump off Kapoor after getting him sozzled to the gills. Soon two toughies walk in and join the table where Kapoor is getting drunk. One of the two toughies is Khalid.

  Khalid enters the bar dressed in a dark-blue jacket and light denim, while his crony is wearing a grey jacket and trousers. They pull out chairs to join Ghatge and Kapoor in their drinking spree. After a while, Ghatge lifts his head and gives a little nod. Khalid wastes no time in understanding the unspoken signal. They are Ghatge’s henchmen and are here to kill Kapoor. They drive him to a deserted spot and violently assault him with the intention of killing him. Kapoor, totally inebriated, fails to put up a fight against the three goons.

  No, this is not a skirmish straight out of a mafia plot involving Khalid. It is a scene from a Bollywood blockbuster called Kasme Vaade, which released in April 1978. The movie boasted an A-list star cast that included Amitabh Bachchan, Amjad Khan, Rakhi, Neetu Singh and Randhir Kapoor.

  In the second half of the 1970s, Amitabh Bachchan had emerged as a phenomenon. Every movie he starred in was a huge hit. The Hindi-film industry had suddenly discovered its Gregory Peck. Such was his aura and charisma that female actors were vying to be cast opposite him, villains were willing to get killed so that they could share screen space with the great Bachchan himself and even the most arrogant actors did not mind playing second lead to him.

  It was the elaborate set of a luxury bar, replete with ornate chandeliers and rich mahogany tables. Ghatge had lured Kapoor here to impress him with the ambience and the fawning butlers serving vintage wine.

  Khalid is seen mumbling some inaudible pleasantries as he shakes hands with Ghatge. The scene, which was followed by a hurried fight sequence, folded up in a jiffy. Khalid was sorely disappointed with his teeny-weeny role in the movie, and to top it all he was not even paid a single dime. The only consolation was that he had acted in an Amitabh Bachchan movie.

  Two years ago, Bachchan walked down memory lane as he celebrated thirty-eight years of Kasme Vaade by posting several pictures and articles on social media. He observed that it was the most popular Indian movie in Israel.

  Khalid’s Hindi movie sojourn happened purely because of his wrestling past. It was a chance offer where he was set to appear alongside Dara Singh in a Jeetendra and Leena Chandavarkar action thriller called Nalayak. Dara Singh had a supporting role in the movie in which he helped Jeetendra fight off some thugs. At the time Jeetendra had yet to establish himself as an action hero and the directors had decided to use Dara Singh to help him out in the role.

  Khalid was asked to play a man Friday to Dara Singh. In this movie too Khalid had a peripheral role, but Dara Singh could be heard calling out a couple of times to ‘Ganpat’, Khalid’s character. Khalid had signed up for Nalayak before Kasme Vaade but the former’s release got pushed by several months and Kasme Vaade ended up hitting the theatres earlier.

  The Mumbai mafia had always been obsessed with Bollywood and all its glamour. Haji Mastan, Karim Lala and every other don in Bombay at the time wanted to be associated with Hindi cinema. It earned them respectability, and the bonus was that they could be photographed with the reigning stars of the era, including Dilip Kumar. In fact, Mastan even produced several Muslim-centric social movies to shed his image of a smuggler and turn over a new leaf as a film producer.

  When word got around that Khalid was working as a goon in the movies, some mafia members mocked him while others interpreted it as his infatuation with Bollywood. Dawood, who had seen the real heroics of Khalid and knew his actual stature and calibre, could not tolerate such frivolous discussions. Dawood reckoned that Khalid was going through a rough patch after his separation from Bashu, which may be why he had agreed to act in cameo roles in Hindi films.

  Dawood had always thought that Khalid had wasted himself at the Social Club. Dawood wanted to work with his mentor as he understood Khalid’s felicity and fearlessness, an unbeatable lethal combination in the underworld. Khalid’s special skills and unconventional thinking had made Bashu richer and stronger. Had they continued to be a team, they could have surpassed all their competitors and rivals to emerge as the most powerful gang in the city. Dawood was aware that he would not be anywhere in the reckoning if Bashu Dada and Khalid had remained steadfast as a team.

  But Bashu’s jealousy and lack of foresight had proved to be the gang’s undoing. Dawood decided to meet Khalid to persuade him to return to smuggling.

  It had been over five years since Khalid had walked out of Teli Mohalla, out of Bashu Dada’s life and then abandoned the business altogether. Khalid had been waiting for some opportunity to come his way that would propel him to a financially lucrative venture. However, nothing worthwhile had been proposed to him. Years had passed and he had now started feeling ennui and stagnation.

  He had made incessant efforts to find peace in many ways. In fact, he even went to his home town of Harda after a long hiatus and donated a lot of money as charity to various masjids and madrasas. The idea behind philanthropy is that it cannot be a one-off gesture. Charity needs to be a continuous effort. It has to have meaning and purpose. After donating lakhs of rupees towards various charitable causes and mosques, Khalid felt good for a while. But soon he felt the same emptiness gnawing inside him—the feeling that he could generate loads of money, if only he had some backing.

  His aspirations to share screen space with Amitabh Bachchan had also come to naught. Though he had a fleeting background appearance in Nalayak with Jeetendra and Dara Singh, in Kasme Vaade, Bachchan was miles away from the frame. Khalid’s dreams of working with Bachchan were shattered. Business-wise Khalid, too, was not very happy as his financial resources were dwindling. He did not have the required wherewithal and the gang network set-up needed to run a smuggling syndicate independently, else he would have launched his own enterprise long ago. He missed his smuggling days. He missed the excitement, the power and the cat-and-mouse game with the law-enforcement agencies, but mostly he missed the money.

  It was one of those soul-searching moments that occurred when Khalid was at the club, when Dawood dropped by and took
him out for dinner. During the meal, Dawood gave Khalid a detailed low-down of his smuggling exploits.

  Dawood told him about how he and Sabir had monopolized the landing spots of Raigad, Dighi and other spots on the Konkan and Srivardhan coasts. ‘We rule the roost there. No outsider can ever use those landing spots,’ Dawood had said with a certain sense of braggadocio.

  He also told Khalid about how he had developed close business relations with the top bullion and gold traders in Kalbadevi. He name-dropped several reputed Marwari and Gujarati seths from Bombay and Surat. Khalid’s heart raced at the information. He told him that they had sounded out some Pakistani smugglers in Dubai who had agreed to do business with them in Bombay. Dawood was sharing with Khalid his intricate and exclusively cultivated business blueprint, without keeping any secrets or withholding any names or contacts. Khalid felt a sudden rush of affection, delight and admiration at his protégé’s financial success and rapid strides in the smuggling business. Dawood had done very well for himself and the best part was that he was quite open and candid about his business activities, and was confiding in him without any insecurities or fears that people in such businesses usually display.

  When Dawood was done talking, he abruptly made an offer, without any preamble, to Khalid, saying, ‘Bhai, aa jao, mujh se haath milalo. Milkar dhanda karte hain, (Brother, join hands with me, let’s do business together).’ Khalid knew that Dawood did not have the eloquence and was usually brutally direct to the extent of being hurtfully blunt. But this was just too much for him to absorb. Khalid was totally taken aback and pleasantly surprised to hear of the offer from Dawood. Khalid could never have expected that someone who had such a well-established business and who had smoothened all the kinks in the process with the best available resources could even think of inviting an outsider as a partner, to share the spoils.

  At the time, Dawood’s gang was not known as the D-Gang but was referred to as the Dawood–Sabir gang. Despite being the older sibling, Sabir received second billing in the gang and Dawood had the upper hand. Khalid had a good equation with Dawood but he was not so sure about Sabir. ‘Why don’t you check with Sabir if he is okay with me coming in?’