the perfect con strategy.
The Young Party, of course, had been created to further the aims of Maulana Zia-ud-Din Bukhari. However, not only was Bukhari no more involved with the Young Party, but the party itself had become a front for criminal activities, albeit of a non-violent nature. It was around this time, circa 1974, that Ibrahim Kaskar and Sabir were humiliated by Baashu. The problem that faced the young Dawood was very grave. He truly loved his father and brother. No matter his general impunity, where his father and brother were concerned, he was generally with his head bowed in their presence out of fondness and respect. Baashu, a mere goon, had shamed both of them and even listed all the favours he had done for Ibrahim over the years. The more Dawood thought about it, the more he regarded it a faulty assessment.
He knew how much Baashu owed his father. A lot of Baashu’s smuggled goods had been released with the assistance of Ibrahim Kaskar. When Baashu’s goods would get caught in the docks, Ibrahim would be away for days, wheeling and dealing and peddling favours to get it released. His father had helped Baashu make his millions to buy his Mercedes and custom-made white shoes while he gave Dawood’s family a mere pittance from time to time. And in exchange for that small amount of money that changed hands, he had insulted Dawood’s family. This was absolutely unacceptable.
Rahim chacha tried to console Dawood and coax him into calming down, ‘ Gussa achi baat nahi. Chalke Baashu bhai ki galat fehmi door karo. [Anger is not good. Let’s go to Baashu and clear this misunderstanding.]’ But his sermons were falling on deaf ears. There was no way Dawood was going to see anyone else’s way. He knew that Baashu would have to go. In the quiet manner that was somehow also menacing, Dawood retorted, ‘ Baashu Dada ko yeh baat badi mehengi padegi [Baashu will have to pay for this].’ At these ominous words, Rahim chacha’s blood froze.
The Juma Namaaz had just finished and it was a hot 2 pm on Friday. Baashu Dada offered his prayers in a masjid near Mastaan Talao. Dawood and his gang were waiting for Baashu. Hanif Kutta, Rajji, Sultan, Abu Bakr, and Sabir were with him. Sabir was against the idea of attacking Baashu, fearing reprisal, and he had told Dawood as much. But Dawood had made up his mind. They were all standing together near Pir Khan Street, a little ahead of JJ Square, waiting for Baashu to emerge through the archway.
It was not a very long wait because Dawood had planned the operation to its finest detail. They saw Baashu appear on schedule, accompanied by his pehelwans (musclemen). Responding to a cue from Dawood, the gang began throwing soda water bottles and used electric bulbs at the don. Soda water bottles as weapons? Now that was a first! The gang continued to throw bottles incessantly, even hitting some passers-by.
If those around were shocked, Baashu was stunned. Firstly, absolutely nobody attacks Baashu Dada and to add salt to injury, soda water bottles were a belittling choice of weapons. This was the first time an incident like this had taken place, but in the riots that broke out in the following years, bottles came to be commonly used.
As he got over the initial shock, Baashu regained his composure and decided to take on Dawood singlehandedly, in man-to-man combat. Baashu knew that Dawood was no match for him and Dawood himself was not ignorant of this. He had even anticipated that Baashu would try something like this. So he began to target Baashu specifically, before it came to this pass. He rained bottle after bottle on Baashu while his boys took on the other pehelwans .
Finally, one of the pehelwans managed to pull the black Mercedes out of its parking slot. Baashu and Umar Pehelwan were seriously injured by this time, and as Baashu saw the car coming towards him, he realised it made sense to retreat when they were so seriously set back. The don and his pehelwans scrambled into
The Young Party, of course, had been created to further the aims of Maulana Zia-ud-Din Bukhari. However, not only was Bukhari no more involved with the Young Party, but the party itself had become a front for criminal activities, albeit of a non-violent nature. It was around this time, circa 1974, that Ibrahim Kaskar and Sabir were humiliated by Baashu. The problem that faced the young Dawood was very grave. He truly loved his father and brother. No matter his general impunity, where his father and brother were concerned, he was generally with his head bowed in their presence out of fondness and respect. Baashu, a mere goon, had shamed both of them and even listed all the favours he had done for Ibrahim over the years. The more Dawood thought about it, the more he regarded it a faulty assessment.
He knew how much Baashu owed his father. A lot of Baashu’s smuggled goods had been released with the assistance of Ibrahim Kaskar. When Baashu’s goods would get caught in the docks, Ibrahim would be away for days, wheeling and dealing and peddling favours to get it released. His father had helped Baashu make his millions to buy his Mercedes and custom-made white shoes while he gave Dawood’s family a mere pittance from time to time. And in exchange for that small amount of money that changed hands, he had insulted Dawood’s family. This was absolutely unacceptable.
Rahim chacha tried to console Dawood and coax him into calming down, ‘ Gussa achi baat nahi. Chalke Baashu bhai ki galat fehmi door karo. [Anger is not good. Let’s go to Baashu and clear this misunderstanding.]’ But his sermons were falling on deaf ears. There was no way Dawood was going to see anyone else’s way. He knew that Baashu would have to go. In the quiet manner that was somehow also menacing, Dawood retorted, ‘ Baashu Dada ko yeh baat badi mehengi padegi [Baashu will have to pay for this].’ At these ominous words, Rahim chacha’s blood froze.
The Juma Namaaz had just finished and it was a hot 2 pm on Friday. Baashu Dada offered his prayers in a masjid near Mastaan Talao. Dawood and his gang were waiting for Baashu. Hanif Kutta, Rajji, Sultan, Abu Bakr, and Sabir were with him. Sabir was against the idea of attacking Baashu, fearing reprisal, and he had told Dawood as much. But Dawood had made up his mind. They were all standing together near Pir Khan Street, a little ahead of JJ Square, waiting for Baashu to emerge through the archway.
It was not a very long wait because Dawood had planned the operation to its finest detail. They saw Baashu appear on schedule, accompanied by his pehelwans (musclemen). Responding to a cue from Dawood, the gang began throwing soda water bottles and used electric bulbs at the don. Soda water bottles as weapons? Now that was a first! The gang continued to throw bottles incessantly, even hitting some passers-by.
If those around were shocked, Baashu was stunned. Firstly, absolutely nobody attacks Baashu Dada and to add salt to injury, soda water bottles were a belittling choice of weapons. This was the first time an incident like this had taken place, but in the riots that broke out in the following years, bottles came to be commonly used.
As he got over the initial shock, Baashu regained his composure and decided to take on Dawood singlehandedly, in man-to-man combat. Baashu knew that Dawood was no match for him and Dawood himself was not ignorant of this. He had even anticipated that Baashu would try something like this. So he began to target Baashu specifically, before it came to this pass. He rained bottle after bottle on Baashu while his boys took on the other pehelwans .
Finally, one of the pehelwans managed to pull the black Mercedes out of its parking slot. Baashu and Umar Pehelwan were seriously injured by this time, and as Baashu saw the car coming towards him, he realised it made sense to retreat when they were so seriously set back. The don and his pehelwans scrambled into
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