"My Conversations With Dawood Ibrahim" continues...

My meeting with you reassured me that in your custody, I will not be ill-treated. I decided to share with the CBI whatever was in my knowledge.’’

Cast in a different mould with more brain than brawn, Manish Lala didn’t seem to be a regular mobster. He was quite forthcoming not only about his own life but on D-company as well. Born on May 23, 1952 in Bombay in a well-off family, he was adopted by a Gujarati couple with no issue of their own. His adopted parents died when he was in his early teens. Ever since then he made his living by doing odd jobs with export companies, hotels, architects and advocates. He worked with two eminent lawyers and realized that he had a flair for legal work.

By the time he was thirty, he had an office of his own at 75, Poddar Chamber in the Fort area of Bombay. Sagir Ahmad, a subtenant of his, ran a travel agency. A client of Sagir had a major monetary dispute with the travel agency and sought the intervention of Anees Ibrahim—Dawood Ibrahim’s younger brother. It was a common phenomenon in Mumbai to get such disputes settled through the Mafiosi for a fee. Anees Ibrahim sent his hoods to the office of
Sagir Ahmed who happened to be out on an errand then. The boys picked up Manish Lala
instead and presented him before Anees. Manish explained that Sagir was his tenant and would
tip off Anees as soon as Sagir came to office.
Manish, true to his word, informed Anees Ibrahim once Sagir was back in office.

Anees rang up Sagir and presumably the dispute was settled to Anees’s satisfaction. Street-smart
as he was, Manish Lala gradually built up on that chance meeting with the number two of the D-
company. He kept in touch with him and attended all social events of Anees’s extended family.

To be continued...