Gopal Rajwani

Last updated

Gopal Rajwani (died 25 January 2000) was a criminal-politician with the Shiv Sena party, from Ulhasnagar, Maharashtra (a suburb of Mumbai). Formerly associated with the ganglord Dawood Ibrahim, [1] he joined the Shiv Sena in 1996. He was killed when he was appearing in a court case at Ulhasnagar in January 2000.

Life

Rajwani began his life selling papadums in Ulhasnagar. At one point, he met gangster Govind Vachani and rose rapidly in the crime world. [2] He later joined the criminal-politician Pappu Kalani and was arrested in 1982–83 for the murder of the editor A V Narayan of Blitz magazine. [1] [2] The case could not be sustained, as no witnesses came forward to testify and he was acquitted.

In 1985, he fell out with Kalani over division of extortion money. [1] Meanwhile, Pappu Kalani had become politically powerful with the Indian National Congress party – he was to be elected from Ulhasnagar the following year. [3] That April, Rajwani was arrested in an extortion case, apparently at Kalani's bidding. As Rajwani was being escorted to the Vithalwadi police station in a rickshaw, Kalani arranged for his men to attack him with bombs and guns. [1] Rajwani survived the attack, but was seriously injured [1] and was admitted to the JJ Hospital. Here, he met Haji Mastan, a notorious smuggler and senior don of that time. Haji Mastan took Rajwani under his wings and arranged for him to go to Dubai.

In Dubai, he met Dawood Ibrahim and began helping him buy real estate in Mumbai. Among the properties he negotiated was a flat in Lokhandwala Complex, which was to be the scene of a famous shootout where the "encounter" specialist (Policeman known for killing off gangsters) Aftaab Ahmed Khan gunned down six of Dawood's aides including Maya Dolas. [4] Much of the fourteen-hour encounter was televised live and made Khan a celebrity.

In April 1989, the Kalani family leader, Pappu's uncle Dudhichand Kalani, was murdered, allegedly by Gopal Rajwani's gang, [5] at the instance of Gop Behrani. [2] This led to reprisal killings – as many as 22 murders in five months. It was said during this period that "there would be a killing in Ulhasnagar every Tuesday." [3] It was during this period that Pappu Kalani emerged as the leader of his own organized crime gang.

In 1992, Pappu Kalani was arrested for the murder of Rajwani henchman Maruthi Jadhav [6] (and subsequently charged in seven other murders). Pappu was in jail for nine years, and in this period, Rajwani then returned to Ulhasnagar. He joined the Shiv Sena in 1995, and emerged as a top leader of the party in Ulhasnagar.

On 24 January 2000, around 11 AM, he was getting off from his car to attend court at the First Class Magistrate's court in Ulhasnagar, when he was attacked by four gunmen, and died of injuries in the head, chest, neck and back. [1]

It is widely believed that Pappu Kalani, recently elected MLA from Ulhasnagar, although in jail at the time, had masterminded his murder. [1]

Related Research Articles

The 1993 Bombay bombings were a series of 12 terrorist bombings that took place in Bombay, Maharashtra, on 12 March 1993. The single-day attacks resulted in 257 fatalities and 1,400 injuries. The attacks were coordinated by Dawood Ibrahim, leader of the Mumbai-based international organised crime syndicate D-Company. Ibrahim was believed to have ordered and helped organize the bombings through his subordinates Tiger Memon and Yakub Memon.

Abu Salem, also known as Aqil Ahmed Azmi and Abu Samaan, is an Indian criminal gangster and terrorist from Azamgarh district in Uttar Pradesh, Central India. Abu Salem worked in the D-Company as a driver transporting artillery and contraband. Later he rose among the ranks after he introduced a new strategy of hiring unemployed youths from his hometown Azamgarh to come to Mumbai, execute shoot-outs and return the next day remaining untraced by the Mumbai police. He is currently serving a life sentence in India.

Arun Gulab Gawli also known as Arun Gulab Ahir, is an Indian politician, underworld don and retired gangster. Gawli and his brother Kishor (Pappa) entered the Mumbai underworld in the 1970s, when they joined the "Byculla Company", a criminal gang led by Rama Naik and Babu Reshim, operating in the central Mumbai areas of Byculla, Parel and Saat Rasta. In 1988, after Rama Naik was killed in a police encounter, Gawli took over the gang and began operating it from his residence, Dagdi Chawl. Under his control, the gang controlled most criminal activities in the central Mumbai areas. Throughout the late eighties and nineties, Gawli's gang was involved in a power struggle with Dawood Ibrahim's D-Company gang. Gawli is also the founder of the Akhil Bharatiya Sena political party based in Maharashtra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chhota Shakeel</span> Indian crime boss

Chhota Shakeel is an Indian crime boss and a high-ranking leader of the D-Company, a criminal group based in South Asia. He joined the D-Company in 1988 under the kingpin Dawood Ibrahim, and was reportedly responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the criminal group. Shakeel became one of the most-wanted men in India after his alleged participation in the 1993 Bombay bombings. He is also wanted by the U.S. government for international drug trafficking.

Organised crime in India refers to organised crime elements originating in India and active in many parts of the world. The purpose of organised crime in India, as elsewhere in the world, is monetary gain. Its virulent form in modern times is due to several socio-economic and political factors and advances in science and technology. There is no firm data to indicate the number of organised criminal gangs operating in the country, their membership, their modus operandi, and the areas of their operations. Their structure and leadership patterns may not strictly fall in line with the classical Italian mafia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chhota Rajan</span> Indian gangster

Rajendra Sadashiv Nikalje, popularly known by his moniker Chhota Rajan, is an Indian gangster and convicted criminal who served as the boss of a major crime syndicate based in Mumbai.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haji Mastan</span> Indian mafia leader

Mastan Mirza, popularly known as Haji Mastan or Sultan Mirza, was an Indian mafia gang leader, originally from Tamil Nadu and based in Bombay. He was one of an infamous trio of mafia gang leaders in Bombay for over two decades from the 1960s to the early 1980s, along with Karim Lala leader of the Pathan gang, and Varadarajan Mudaliar, another famous gang leader from Tamil Nadu in South India.

Suresh Budharmal Kalani, known popularly as Pappu Kalani is an Indian criminal-politician from Ulhasnagar, Maharashtra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pradeep Sharma</span> Police Officer

Pradeep Sharma is a former officer in the police force of Mumbai, India. Sharma attained notability as an "encounter specialist" with the Lucknow Encounter Squad and was involved with the deaths of as many as 312 criminals. On 31 August 2008 he was suspended from the Mumbai police on charges of corruption but was reinstated on 16 August 2017 after he was proven innocent of those charges. Sharma resigned from Mumbai police in July 2019 after a 35 year long career. He officially joined the ruling Shiv Sena in Maharashtra on September 13, 2019 and contested from Nalasopara seat in the Maharashtra assembly polls but lost to Bahujan Vikash Aghadi's candidate Kshitij Hitendra Thakur by a margin of 43,729 votes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maya Dolas</span> Indian criminal

Maya Dolas was an Indian underworld gangster who used to work for the D-Company don, Dawood Ibrahim. He was killed in an encounter at the 1991 Lokhandwala Complex shootout by the then Additional Police Commissioner of Mumbai, Aftab Ahmed Khan, at the age of 25.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karim Lala</span> Indian mobster (1911–2002)

Karim Lala, born as Abdul Karim Sher Khan in the Samalam Village of the Shegal District of the Kunar province of Afghanistan, was infamous as one of the three "mafia dons of Mumbai" in India for more than two decades from the sixties to the early eighties. The other two being Mastan Mirza aka Haji Mastan and Varadarajan Mudaliar.

Ali Baba Budesh was a notorious Indian extortionist and underworld mobster, based in Bahrain. He was mostly active in 1990s. Fearing backlash from the Mumbai police, Budesh fled to Bahrain in the late eighties, where he opened up his new base of operations in the capital city of Manama.He died in coma as he was suffering from sugar related illness.

Sachin Hindurao Vaze is a former Indian police officer who served as an Assistant Police Inspector in Mumbai Police. He was dismissed from service by Mumbai Police Commissioner under Article 311 (2) (b) without a departmental enquiry. He is currently in the custody of the National Investigation Agency for his alleged involvement in the Antilia bomb scare and the murder of Mansukh Hiren. He was a member of Shiv Sena.

The 1991 Lokhandwala Complex shootout was a gunbattle that occurred on 16 November 1991 at the Lokhandwala Complex, Bombay, between seven gangsters led by Maya Dolas and members of the Mumbai Police and the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) led by the then Additional Commissioner of Police, A. A. Khan. The four-hour-long shootout was termed as India's "first daylight encounter" and was videographed and conducted in full view of the public. It ended in the deaths of all seven gangsters, including Maya Dolas, Dilip Buwa and Anil Pawar.

Dawood Ibrahim ( is an Indian mafia gangster, drug kingpin, and a wanted terrorist from Dongri, Mumbai. He reportedly heads the Indian organised crime syndicate D-Company, which he founded in Mumbai in the 1970s. Ibrahim is wanted on charges including murder, extortion, targeted killing, drug trafficking, and terrorism.

<i>Shootout at Wadala</i> 2013 film directed by Sanjay Gupta

Shootout at Wadala is a 2013 Indian action-crime film written and directed by Sanjay Gupta. The film stars John Abraham, Anil Kapoor, Kangana Ranaut, Tusshar Kapoor, Manoj Bajpayee and Sonu Sood. It is a prequel to the 2007 film Shootout at Lokhandwala. In the film, Manya, a diligent student, lands in prison for killing a gangster who attacked his brother, Bhargav, who eventually dies. Soon, Manya escapes jail and forms his own gang to seek revenge.

Shabir Ibrahim Kaskar was notorious Indian criminal based in Mumbai. He was the elder brother of Dawood Ibrahim, the current gang leader of the D-Company. The rise of Shabir and Dawood in Mumbai's underworld and the sympathetic attitude of the Mumbai police toward them evoked the jealous and resentment of other established gang member from the Pathan gang that dominat South Mumbai area. Final, the inter-gang rivalry grew to such an extent that Manya Surve, his gang and Amirzada and Alamzeb plotted to kill Shabir and Dawood. On 12 February 1981, they gunned Shabir down at petrol pump in Prabhadevi.

Supreme Court of India, in its judgement dated 10 July 2013 while disposing the Lily Thomas v. Union of India case, ruled that any Member of Parliament (MP), Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) or Member of a Legislative Council (MLC) who is convicted of a crime and given a minimum of two years' imprisonment, loses membership of the House with immediate effect. This is in contrast to the earlier position, wherein convicted members held on to their seats until they exhausted all judicial remedy in lower, state and supreme court of India. Further, Section 8(4) of the Representation of the People Act, which allowed elected representatives three months to appeal their conviction, was declared unconstitutional by the bench of Justice A. K. Patnaik and Justice S. J. Mukhopadhaya.

Uzair Jan Baloch is a Pakistani gangster and former crime lord originally from Karachi, Pakistan. He was a key figurehead of Karachi underworld and notorious gang war in his hometown, Lyari, at his peak around 2012. Baloch is accused in various cases involving murder, extortion, drug trafficking, terrorism, and after being arrested many times, became a fugitive wanted by law enforcement agencies. Due to his influential ties, it is alleged that Baloch enjoyed political patronage and was "protected" by the ruling PPP from facing charges but was eventually nabbed after intervention of federal authorities. Baloch denies all the charges against him and says they are "politically motivated". He is also the former chief of the Peoples Aman Committee, which was a militant group linked to the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pradip Sawant</span> Indian Police Officer (born 1962)

Pradip Sawant is an Indian Police Officer, currently serving as the DCP Security Branch in Mumbai Police. He is a recipient of the President's Police Medal for Meritorious Service in 2002. He was behind more than 300 encounters in Mumbai during his stint as DCP between the years 2000 and 2003.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Jake Khan, Ulhasnagar (25 January 2000). "Sena leader Gopal Rajwani shot dead". Ulhasnagar: India Abroad. Archived from the original on 9 September 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2007.
  2. 1 2 3 Yogesh Pawar (3 March 1999). "Three Ps rule Ulhas: Pelf, Politicians & Pappu". Indian Express . Retrieved 24 May 2007.
  3. 1 2 Girish Kuber (9 January 2007). "Pappu's Ulhasnagar gambit may backfire". The Economic Times . Retrieved 24 May 2007.
  4. ↑ S Hussain Zaidi (5 February 1998). ""Mr Controversy" seeks a clean ticket". Indian Express . Archived from the original on 4 June 2007. Retrieved 23 May 2007.
  5. ↑ Justices K.T. Thomas & D.P. Mohapatra (2 March 2001). "Suresh alias Pappu Bhudharmal Kalani v. State of Maharashtra". Supreme Court of India . Retrieved 30 May 2007.[ permanent dead link ]
  6. ↑ Tanushree Chakraborty (6 September 2001). "Pappu Kalani is free: bluster intact, not his base". Indian Express. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 24 May 2007.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.