"My Conversations With Dawood Ibrahim" continues...

On September 6, 1983, Dawood got dreaded gangster Amirzada Nawab Khan of the rival Pathan gang killed in court. The hit was carried out by a rookie shooter David Pardesi for D to avenge the murder of his elder brother Sabir, who had been gunned down by the Pathans in the wee hours of February 12, 1981 at a petrol pump in Prabhadevi, Bombay. The Pathan gang and the Sabir-Dawood gang had been at war for some time to gain supremacy of Bombay’s underworld. Despite a truce brokered between them by an elder don Haji Mastan, the two gangs remained at each other’s throats. Immediately after shooting Amirzada, the novice assassin David Pardesi was caught at the spot and disclosed to the Police that he pulled the trigger at the behest of D.

The Bombay Police was now looking for Dawood who was on the run. Despite all his clout and
contacts there was no let-up in the manhunt launched against him. Manish Lala once happened to be present with Anees when the matter was under discussion. With his knowledge and understanding of how the legal system worked, Manish offered to step in and help. He engaged Senior Advocate Shamrao Sawant through whom he managed to get Dawood Ibrahim anticipatory bail saving him from being arrested. The dons of D-company could not believe what Manish Lala had pulled off for them. He had, in the process, endeared himself to the first family of the Mumbai underworld for all time to come. He was to become the de facto ‘Law Minister’ of D-company and a close confidant of Dawood and Anees.

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Manish Lala, during one of the interrogation sessions with me, mentioned that Dawood might be willing to give himself up to the CBI. He offered to speak with D and discuss the proposition and encourage him to return. After keeping my seniors in the loop, I allowed him to use my secret office phone to get in touch with Dawood. Unlisted and protected phone lines were provided those days to select officers for top secret operations.

To be continued...