Retracing Anees Ibrahim’s steps: Dubai cell to a Mumbai chawl

‘‘Ibrahim Kaskar was instrumental in shaping the fate of Dawood and his brothers. He encouraged them to become criminals. Whenever there was a complaint he would pretend to scold them but would later pat them on the backs,’’ Hanif, Dawood’s foster brother who’s known as Number 7 in underworld lingo, told The Indian Express recently. Anees, a co-accused in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case, was arrested in Dubai on December 3.

Hanif still remembers the years he spent with the family. ‘‘The house was very small, on the first floor of the chawl. The daughters, Mumtaz and Hasina, and the mother cuddled up in one corner of the room. Elder brother Shabbir, Dawood, Noora, Anees, Iqbal, Humayun and Mustaqeen occupied the rest of the space. Their clothes hung on the wall and were often put out to dry in the common balcony.’’ The bowls in the makeshift kitchen were often empty, Hanif added.

But despite the apparent want, Ibrahim Kaskar often had important visitors, like the Pathan smugglers of the time, Haji Mastan and Karim Lala. Dawood and his older brother Shabbir later took to smuggling textiles and other goods too, while Anees and Noora worked in a garage near Maharashtra College in Mumbai Central, said Mumbai Police sources.

Dawood’s fortunes changed when his gang looted a boat carrying contraband worth Rs 14 lakh in 1977. Dawood soon shinnied up the underworld ladder, and his brothers were never far behind—or at a safe enough distance. His oldest brother, Shabbir, was killed by the rival Karim Lala gang in 1982. Dawood’s response was fast and furious: he eliminated the Lala gang.

Just two years later, Dawood, who was then 28, had to flee the country. That’s when Anees stepped in, expanding the D-gang. Anees is said to have masterminded the killings of several Shiv Sena leaders some years ago like Vivek Patil, Vivek Kelkar, Anand Bhagwe and BJP leaders Ramdas Nayak and Prem Kumar Sharma.

Noora took longer to show up in the police records. He too escaped with Dawood and later moved to Karachi with him.

Iqbal and Mustaqim keep a low profile in the gang, but participate in meetings. They run an electronic good store in a plush shopping centre in Dubai. The youngest son, 28-year-old Humayun, is the only person in the family who doesn’t have a criminal record, said police sources.

But Anees’s arrest may not be that hard a blow to the D Company as is imagined. Anees may have been the manager of finances, but Dawood is said to take most of the decisions. And the man who implements them isn’t a Kaskar.

‘‘The D Company rests on Chotta Shakeel’s shoulders. Once he is arrested or eliminated, the entire gang will fall like a pack of cards. Dawood is entirely dependent on him, and Shakeel too is loyal to Dawood,’’ says a senior Mumbai police officer.