I asked my final question, before getting up to leave.
‘Don’t you feel like returning to India? Don’t you yearn to see Mumbai, the city of your dreams and aspirations, and breathe the air of Harda and Bhopal, the towns that gave you your identity?’
The question really made him emotional and nostalgic, and I could see tears welling up in his eyes. There was a slight constriction in his throat as he tried to gather his thoughts and speak.
‘Of course, I want to return to India. Who doesn’t want to spend his life in his homeland? My ancestors might have come from Batkhela, but for me India is my country. I will come when I feel the time is conducive and I will not be ill-treated by the authorities,’ Khalid said, struggling to articulate his feelings.
I thought we were done. Both Rayyan and I rose. But Khalid was not.
‘I really want to return to the country before I die. This is one unfulfilled desire of mine. I hope I can make it,’ he added.
We shook hands warmly.
I hastily bid him goodbye and felt my heart racing. Right now my motherland beckoned, and here I was, still in this lobby, seeing crucial moments slipping away.
Rayyan showed amazing agility, took my bags and jumped behind the wheel of his Prado. As he sped on the clean, well-navigated roads of Dubai, I felt like I was being driven by Jason Statham in The Transporter.
Alhamdulillah!
This time I did not miss my flight after meeting a dangerous man, though I was the last one to board the aircraft.
Khalid Pehelwan (centre) on his wedding day, flanked by Anees on his right and Dawood on his left.
Khalid Pehelwan (left) chilling out with Dawood Ibrahim after his nikah (right).
Khalid Pehelwan (close-up).
Khalid Pehelwan (centre) with Dawood Ibrahim on his right and Dawood’s brother Noor Hasan, also called ‘Noora’, on his left.
Khalid Pehelwan with mafia queen Jenabai Daruwali.
Khalid Pehelwan (left) with Dawood Ibrahim and the baap of dons—former head constable Ibrahim Kaskar.
Khalid Pehelwan in his college days, doing his drill for the National Cadet Corps.
Khalid in the wrestler’s pose.
Togetherness: Khalid (left) and Dawood (right).
Another picture of Khalid (left) and Dawood (right).
A photograph of Khalid from fairly recent times.
Dawood (left) and Khalid (right).
A photograph from Khalid's NCC training days.
A photograph from Khalid’s NCC training days.
A photograph from Khalid's NCC training days.
* Name changed.
List of Sources
Chapter 1: The Pathan Threat
The primary source of information was personal interviews conducted with Khalid Pehelwan in his Dubai office. However, the information was substantiated with other interviews that I had conducted during the course of my earlier books like Dongri to Dubai.
Chapter 2: Reel vs Real
Kamal Chadha is a known history-sheeter and an accused in various cases. A variety of cases has been registered against him at the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) and the special cell of Delhi police. One such dossier was read out to me by an officer in the Delhi Police, and I had taken notes from the same.
Chadha has also been a subject of consistent reportage in news reports, which I referred to while writing this chapter. Two such reports are mentioned here:
Sachin Parashar, ‘Dawood aide gives Delhi cops a slip’, Times of India, 1 May 2005, https://bit.ly/2N0nIKs, accessed 20 July 2018.
Sachin Parashar, ‘Dawood’s friend in Delhi probed for match-fixing’, Times of India, 9 February 2007, https://bit.ly/2tjAaMk, accessed 20 July 2018.
The portions about Sanjay Gupta seeking help from Chadha have come directly from him during his interview. This also includes Gupta’s conversation with Chhota Shakeel en route to Shirdi. The conversation is reproduced verbatim in my book Dongri to Dubai: Six Decades of the Mumbai Mafia (New Delhi: Lotus Collection, 2012).
Chapter 3: The Fall of Sabir
This entire chapter is sourced from Khalid Pehelwan’s interview, wherein he added details to the story. The incident was earlier described in Dongri to Dubai.
Chapter 4: The First Lead
The main source for the chapter is Mr Sikandar Shah, Khalid Khan’s ace lieutenant in Mumbai. However, Sikandar’s criminal activities, in complicity with Karim Lala, had been registered at the Nagpada police station by then police inspector Shamsher Khan Pathan in 1984.
The infamous incident of the arrest of Judge J.W. Singh under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) was widely reported. The killing of advocate Liyaqat Ali Shaikh by Chhota Shakeel and the underworld–legal nexus was featured in newspapers and magazines:
Sheela Raval, ‘Revelation of nexus between judge and underworld don shakes legal circles’, India Today, 20 September 1999, https://bit.ly/2N0fq5p, accessed 2 May 2018.
Chapter 5: The Dubai Rendezvous
This chapter is a result of my personal interaction with Khalid and the way I was taken to meet him. At the time I was accompanied by Rayyan Rizvi, my nephew and young friend, who transcribed the entire interview for me.
Chapter 6: The Legend of Pathans
Haroon Rashid, History of the Pathans (Islamabad: Haroon Rashid, 2002).
Chapter 7: The Challenger
The wrestling-match incident is described at length by both Khalid and Sikandar. Parts of it were substantiated by a few retired cops and former members of the mafia.
Chapter 8: The Protégé
Retired assistant commissioner of police Burhan Malgi was a family friend of Head Constable Ibrahim Kaskar. Since he was Kaskar’s senior, he was sympathetic to his problems and tried to help him. Malgi was also a well-informed source about the Bombay underworld. Most of the information about the family and Dawood’s earlier struggles comes from him.
S. Hussain Zaidi, Dongri to Dubai: Six Decades of the Mumbai Mafia (New Delhi: Lotus Collection, 2012).
Chapter 9: Khalid: Bashu’s Acolyte
This piece of information was narrated to me by two journalists of Urdu newspapers, on the condition of anonymity. Subsequently, when I double-checked with Khalid Pehelwan, he verified parts of the said information. I have also referred to the book by Sharafat Khan:
Sharafat Khan, Underworld King Dawood Ibrahim and Gang War (Mumbai: Sharafat Khan, N.D.).
Chapters 10–14
The entire source for the chapters is interview-based, and I have conducted several sessions of interviews with ACP Malgi, Dawood’s aides in Mumbai and crime branch officers who did not wish to be quoted. This material was then cross-checked with Khalid when I met him.
Prabhu Chawla, ‘Law Enforcement Agencies Make Record Seizures of Gold’, India Today, 31 Oct 1988, https://bit.ly/2ByJroC, accessed 20 July 2018.
Chapter 15: The Bashu–Khalid Split
The information and description for this chapter have come from senior officers of the DRI.
Chapter 16: The Art of Smuggling
The background information on Antulay’s politics and social interactions has been sourced from several Urdu and Marathi newspapers.
Several anecdotes were shared with me by former journalist turned Shiv Sena leader Pramod Navalkar. Navalkar also told me about Antulay’s reformation in the community and crackdown on liquor dens.
‘Former Maharashtra CM AR Antulay passes away’, Times of India, 2 December 2014, https://bit.ly/2TJHhJJ.
Deepak Lokhande, ‘The rise and fall of former Maharashtra Chief Minister AR Antulay’, DNA, 2 December 2014, https://bit.ly/2Buw6gR, accessed 27 June 2018.
Chapter 17: Dawood’s Overtures
The information was given to me by Dawood’s brother Sabir Kaskar before he was arrested under the MCOCA.
Chapter 18: The Five-Man Army
This is an interview-based chapter on my meeting with Khalid. However, the Galadari-related information has co
me from Middle Eastern and Indian magazines. I have relied heavily on India Today’s detailed feature on him:
Sumit Mitra, ‘Abdul Latif Galadari Surfaces in India as Govt Withdraws Smuggling Cases against the Brothers’, India Today, 29 October 2013, https://bit.ly/2RTySBA, accessed 20 January 2018.
Chapter 19: An Undercover Wedding
The information in this book has been sourced from different published materials including the compilation titled ‘Growth of Gangsterism in the City’ by former Mumbai police commissioner Mahesh Narain Singh and several other dossiers. Several pieces were put together to build the chapter. I have sourced the rest from Dongri to Dubai and Khalid’s interview.
Chapter 20: The D-Gang
The incident was sourced from a police dossier of the Mumbai crime branch, while background on Antulay was gathered from a Times of India article:
‘Former Maharashtra CM AR Antulay passes away’, Times of India, 2 December 2014, https://bit.ly/2TJHhJJ.
Most of the information about the Gujarat incident with Dawood and related episodes was gleaned from the following book by former Delhi police commissioner Neeraj Kumar:
Neeraj Kumar, Dial D for Don: Inside Stories of CBI Missions (Gurgaon: Penguin Random House, 2015).
R.S. Nayak vs A.R. Antulay, 16 February 1984
1984 AIR 684, 1984 SCR (2) 495
Chapter 21: Musa Ka Ghoosa
The incident had many narrators, including ACP Malgi, veterans of the crime branch, the people present at Tardeo market and a relative of Mehmood Kalia. These accounts were then subsequently confirmed by Khalid Pehelwan.
Chapter 22: The Gold ‘Wave’
The main sources for the chapter include an officer of the DRI, former crime branch officers and Sikandar Shah, who used to be an aide of Khalid Pehelwan.
Chapter 23: An Amicable Parting
Shiv Sena’s issue of Sons of the Soil is their main political plank.
‘For Sena, it’s “son-of-soil” agenda over Hindutva’, Times of India, 26 June 2007, https://bit.ly/2DwGhSb, accessed 5 May 2018.
‘Dubai tycoon Abdul Wahab Galadari loses global business empire’, India Today, 15 January 1984, https://bit.ly/2TOp4eh, accessed 20 May 2018.
Chapter 24: ‘Never Get Caught’
The information for this chapter was gleaned through interviews conducted with several members of the Dawood gang who had witnessed this incident with their own eyes.
Chapter 25: Deception Point
The information for this chapter was gleaned through the interview conducted with Khalid Pehelwan wherein he described the whole incident.
Chapter 26: The End of the Line
The information for this chapter was gleaned from my personal interactions in the Dubai hotel.
Acknowledgements
Everyone is my teacher
Some I seek
Some I subconsciously attract
Often, I learn simply
By observing others
Some may be completely unaware that
I am learning from them
Yet, I bow deeply in gratitude.
—Anonymous
A man’s mettle, his character and the choices he makes in life all boil down to having a great mentor. The ones who make their mark in life always talk about the people who shaped their minds, forged their thoughts and perspectives and carved their personality; they talk of the people and books that left an indelible impression on their minds. A mentor is the architect of a man’s character and the sculptor of his personality. A mentor could be your parent, spouse, sibling, teacher, friend or even a colleague at work. The only prerequisites for the pupil is that s/he needs to have cognizance of the mentor’s presence in his or her life and that s/he needs to deeply respect the mentor and possess a deep hunger to follow and emulate the mentor.
In the Mahabharata, Eklavya was denied tutelage by Dronacharya, but his burning desire to excel and follow the teacher made him a better archer than Arjun. The warrior in Arjun attained his peak of perfection only when his friend—who was also his charioteer—Krishna decided to mentor him in Kurukshetra.
Before Moses embarked on his mission to take on the might of the Pharaoh, it was Jethro who coached and trained him. Moses ended up marrying Jethro’s daughter after serving him for years.
Both Christianity and Islam emphasize on servitude and humility to the mentor. Jesus showed the way through humility and often led by example. Prophet Muhammad’s most devout disciple was his cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib, popularly known as Ali. The disciple was so humble before Muhammad that he would not even hesitate to cobble his master’s shoes. Muhammad reciprocated with compassion and eventually had his daughter betrothed to Ali. The art of losing oneself while learning from the mentor makes one the best protégé. And the best protégé actually turns out to be the most effective mentor. Till date, Hazrat Ali’s followers swear by his principles, integrity, valour, his exemplary character, his inner and outer strength and his loyalty to his mentor.
Dedicated learners and students pick up more wisdom from their mentors than from their own parents. Napoleon Hill met Andrew Carnegie a couple of times but was deeply influenced by him. Hill went on to write the bestselling book Think and Grow Rich, a bible for millions of entrepreneurs. The book changed so many lives for the better—its happy beneficiaries swear by its pull and influence in their lives till today.
On the other hand, the mentor has so much tenacity and wisdom that he does not dwell on his protégé’s turnabout. If Ernest Hemingway was mentored by Sherwood Anderson, Hemingway did not reciprocate. Flush with arrogance, Hemingway ridiculed Anderson in a satire after achieving fame. But Sherwood Anderson was unfazed and continued grooming talents. American writers like William Faulkner and F. Scott Fitzgerald emerged from the Anderson stable.
Speaking of mentors, I would like to share my own personal story as an example for all my students. At seventeen, I was gauche and lacked in confidence. I was trying to complete my education even as I was trying to support my parents by working part-time. As my written and spoken English left a lot to be desired, I was very embarrassed. One day I was sitting, forlorn, in a library in suburban Mumbai, wondering how I could improve my writing skills. Suddenly, a youth, probably the same age as me, who was aware of my problems, walked up to me and, after a brief dialogue, offered me a book—Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less by Jeffrey Archer.
I first met Shabeeb Rizvi several years ago during lunch at a common friend’s place and had not taken much of a liking to him. He was talking about various books and his command over English was superb. I misinterpreted his knowledge and his suaveness. I thought that because he was the scion of a prominent family in Bandra, he was flaunting his social status. Actually, I carried this resentment against him for quite some time. But that day in the library, we forged a bond that remains strong till date.
I remember his first piece of advice: ‘The best way to master a language is to read the masters of that language excessively.’ That was the beginning. I voraciously devoured thrillers and other assorted pulp fiction, essentially whatever I could lay my hands on—Frederick Forsyth, Ian Fleming, Robert Ludlum, Ken Follett, David Baldacci, David Morrell, John Grisham, Scott Turow, Steve Martini, Sidney Sheldon, Irwin Wallace and their contemporary thriller writers. At one point of time, the bookstall owners at Fort and Kala Ghoda started recognizing me and sweetly keeping copies of various books for me. Needless to say, I began to absorb from these master storytellers. I ended up reading hundreds of books and I would like to say that those books did for me what no creative-writing classes could do for an eager student.
When I became closer to Shabeeb Sir, I discovered so many facets to him that I realized that my initial assessment of him stemmed from an inferiority complex—he was everything that I was not. The man was a polyglot and could speak over half a dozen languages with equal ease and felicity. He devoured books on various subjects like a carnivore pouncing on its prey. He read everything that he could lay
his hands on. He had an insatiable appetite for books. He read history, philosophy and logic, grammar, dictionaries and lexicons—anything that fancied him. Shabeeb Sir is a man of many parts, a speaker, researcher, writer, translator, analyst and the author of over 200 treatises, dissertations and research topics, not to mention that he is responsible for the translation of several iconic Arabic books into English. I was also intrigued by his way of living, which was spartan, to say the least. There was nothing ostentatious about him or his lifestyle despite his family’s wealth. I was also charmed by his magnanimity. I learnt valour, integrity, humility, fearlessness and selflessness from him. I began to look up to him as my first mentor. He taught me to make a lot of money and spend it generously on family and friends and, after them, on have-nots like widows, orphans and the poor. He believed there was no point in hoarding money like misers do, because one won’t be able to take it to the grave.
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