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.
D-Company is a name coined by the Indian media for one of Mumbai underworld's organized crime syndicate founded and controlled by Dawood Ibrahim, an Indian crime boss, drug dealer and wanted terrorist. In 2011, Ibrahim, along with his D-Company, was number three on FBI's "The World's 10 Most Wanted Fugitives" list.
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.
Gopal Rajwani was a criminal-politician with the Shiv Sena party, from Ulhasnagar, Maharashtra. Formerly associated with the ganglord Dawood Ibrahim, he joined the Shiv Sena in 1996. He was killed when he was appearing in a court case at Ulhasnagar in January 2000.
Karim Lala, born Abdul Karim Sher Khan in the Samalam Village of the Shegal District of Kunar Province, 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.
Sathuvachari Varadarajan Mudaliar, also known as Vardhabhai and Vardha, was an Indian crime boss. From the early 1960s to the 1980s, he was, along with Karim Lala and Haji Mastan, one of the most powerful mob bosses in Bombay. His origin is Sathuvachari in North Arcot district of Tamil Nadu, from where his father migrated to Tuticorin to work in shipping business. He was born in Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu.
Irupatham Noottandu is a 1987 Indian Malayalam-language action thriller film directed by K. Madhu, written by S. N. Swamy and produced by M. Mani. It stars Mohanlal, Suresh Gopi, and Ambika. The film's music was composed by Shyam. In the film, Sagar alias Jacky, a maverick youth, runs a gold smuggling racket for Sekharankutty, the son of the Chief Minister Inchakadu Ramakrishna Pillai. Jacky and Sekharankutty's relationship stains after Sekharankutty brings narcotics into the business.
Abhimanyu is a 1991 Indian Malayalam-language crime drama film directed by Priyadarshan and written by T. Damodaran. It stars Mohanlal and Geetha. The plot revolves around the Bombay underworld and the transformation of an innocent guy into a crime boss in the city. The movie is loosely based on the life of Bada Rajan. The tagline of the movie is Crime Never Pays.
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.
Rajan Mahadevan Nair, popularly known in the Mumbai underworld by his moniker Bada Rajan, was an Indian mobster and underworld don from Mumbai.
Bada Kabarastan, is a Muslim cemetery in the Marine Lines area of south Mumbai in India. One of the largest Muslim cemeteries in the country, it is also the final resting place of a number of icons from various walks of life including Nargis, Madhubala, Suraiya, Haji Mastan, Karim Lala, Yakub Memon and Baba Siddique.
Dawood Ibrahim is an Indian mob boss, drug lord, and terrorist. 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.
Shootout at Wadala is a 2013 Indian action-crime film written and directed by Sanjay Gupta. The film stars Anil Kapoor, John Abraham, Manoj Bajpayee, Tusshar Kapoor, Kangana Ranaut 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 a 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 the brothers in Mumbai's underworld and the sympathetic attitude of the Mumbai police department toward them evoked the jealousy and resentment of other established gang members from the Pathan gang that dominated the South Mumbai area. The inter-gang rivalry grew to such an extent that Manya Surve, his gang, along with Amirzada and Alamzeb plotted to kill Shabir and Dawood. On 12 February 1981, they shot Shabir at a petrol pump in Prabhadevi. The murder of Kaskar is an important chapter in Mumbai's underworld as it unleashed a gruesome gang war between Ibrahim's gang and the Pathan gang, leading to a spate of shootouts until the retired don, Karim Lala, requested a truce, and eventually the Pathan gang's dominance was replaced by Ibrahim's gang.
Dongri to Dubai: Six Decades of the Mumbai Mafia is a book by former investigative journalist Hussain Zaidi published in 2012. The book traces the evolution of the Mumbai mafia from a group of thugs and smugglers to the present day mafia dons of organised crime. It traces the journey of Dawood Ibrahim from the by-lanes of Dongri where he first cut his teeth in crime, to Dubai, where he eventually established his empire.
Amma is an Indian crime drama television series that premiered on June 25, 2016, on Zee TV. It was created by Farhn P. Zamma. The show is based on the female underworld don of Mumbai, Jenabai Daruwali.
Anees Ibrahim Kaskar is a Mumbai based Indian gangster, criminal mobster and drug dealer. He is wanted by the Mumbai police in connection with more than 24 cases of murder, extortion and drug smuggling.
Gangubai Harjeevandas, better known as Gangubai Kothewali or Gangubai Kathiawadi, was an Indian social activist, sex worker and madam of a brothel in the Kamathipura area of Mumbai during the 1960s. Gangubai worked for the rights of sex workers and for the well-being of orphans. She gradually ended up operating her own brothel and is known to also have lobbied for the rights of commercial sex workers.
Mumbai Mafia: Police vs The Underworld is a 2023 Netflix documentary film produced by Morgan Matthews and Sophie Jones and directed by Raaghav Dar and Francis Longhurst under banner of Minnow Films. It depicts clashes between Mumbai Police and Indian mafia Dawood Ibrahim and his companions like Abu Salem and others.
Bambai Meri Jaan is an Indian Hindi-language period crime thriller television series produced under the banner of Excel Entertainment. The series stars Kay Kay Menon, Avinash Tiwary, Kritika Kamra, Nivedita Bhattacharya, and Amyra Dastur. It premiered on Amazon Prime Video.
