From land of pehelwans to bhaudoms

Nagpur: Unlike Mumbai where ‘bhais’ ruled the underworld right from the late 60s, Central Province and Berar’s erstwhile capital Nagpur was a place where ‘pehelwans’ ruled the roost. The ‘pehelwans’ have now given way to a more modern avatar of ‘bhaus’ (band of brothers). They are far removed from the disciplined ‘pehelwans’ and are merely musclemen who have managed to create fear in nearby area with their antisocial activities.
The death of the pehelwans, mostly eliminated in the fight for area domination, paved way for todays’ ‘bhaus’. In Nagpur, gang activities had always centred on a strong man who ran a fief. There was no concept of teamwork or a group knitted by camaraderie. Such strongmen existed in all localities.
After the Britishers’ colonial and Bhosale’s benevolent raj, this former Gondwana land was ruled by pehelwans and their close associates.
Ajni’s Samad, Tehsil’s Bagar, Karnal Bagh’s Bajrang, Bajeriya’s Tantu, north Nagpur’s Bhujang were among the pehelwans who ruled the roost in the 60s and 70s. The name of one Rehman pehelwan often crops up when it came to controlling stretches along the railway tracks.
A former police officer recalled the dominance of each pehelwan and their group in different localities. “Some of these pehelwans sold marijuana, others liquor and some others had gambling dens. They would also strike deals for protection money with local traders and those conducting illegal businesses. There used to be minimum or almost no police complaints against them as they were much dreaded. People went to the pehelwans to settle their problems,” said the former cop.
The cine-style gang war on Hasanbagh Road a couple of months ago in which three Deepak Thakur-Rahul Meshram members were eliminated by the Kosurkar gang or the daring murder of Gaffar Ali, who is history-sheeter Shamsher’s brother, by rivals, also in Hansanbagh, had left cops in a tizzy but such situations are not uncommon for the local khaki department.
A resident of Indora recalled how some places in north Nagpur like Bhankheda, Kamal Chowk and Pachpaoli were turned into a khaki fortress after the murder of Bhujang pehelwan by the Bhanges in the 70s. “The locality continued to be tense for days,” he said. Indora’s Chaitram Shende and his gang was also at war with Bhujang but it was Bhanges who brought about the downfall of Bhankheda’s don.
Digambar Maharaj and his gang had considerable domination over Itwari-Bangali Panja localities in north-west Nagpur in the late 60s and early 70s. Maharaj was a ragpicker in Itwari who swung to prominence as a gangster after committing some daring crimes. Unconfirmed sources claimed that another upcoming goon, Altaf from Nawabpura, had brought about Maharaj’s downfall. Altaf’s gang concentrated in Itwari and adjacent localities while his own area in Nawabpura was controlled by gangs of Pundalik Ustad (Kadu) in the 60s.
A cop said that ‘bhaus’ like Prakash Zalke and his gang surfaced after the end of the ‘pehelwan’ era. “In fact, several gangs started popping up in Sakkardara in late 70s and early 80s,” said the experienced cop. Zalke was a dreaded name and his gang covered considerable areas in east Nagpur. Ayyu Ramzan Ali, alias Bablu Kaleya, along with his seven brothers and their gang used to challenge Zalke. From a simple cinema ticket black marketer at Sangam theatre, Kaleya had a meteoric rise in the underworld. His gang grew in east Nagpur. After Kaleya’s murder, his younger brother Shamsher followed in his footsteps.
The gang of Rajwade brothers, Raju and Sanjay, had created a third power centre base in Sakkardara along with Zalke and Kaleya. Raju and Gamshu, along with Sanjay Awtare and others are learnt to have cut short Kaleya’s dream to become a don. “The gang rivalries in east Nagpur mainly revolved around the business of black-marketing of tickets in Sangam talkies in the late 90s and early 2000s. Kaleya wanted to become unchallenged hero of the cinema ticket blackmarketing but his run was ended halfway,” said the cop.
Zalke’s end was brought about by close aides of Dhawade brothers near their residence at Garoba Maidan. Harishchandra Dhawade and his brothers, who later become gambling kingpins, came to much prominence after two of their close persons stabbed Zalke to death when the later had gone to collect extortion money.
In the 90s, Bablu Francis and his gang, who had their base in Jaripatka, spread terror in north Nagpur. He was considered a daredevil and had once also opened fire on a prominent Sindhi builder and film producer.
Jarman Khan, despite being an amputee, had created terror in the city with his gang in the late 90s. Though the gang started functioning in Tajbagh area, it gradually spread its activities in Zingabai Takli too. The group, labelled as ‘Jarman-Japan’ gang, mostly targeted properties grabbing them with threats and often with force. The gang was also involved in armed assault and often got involved in clashes with other goons.
Two more gangs, one belonging to Abu Khan and his family and another their neighbour Afzal Sheikh, had their genesis from Tajbagh in the 90s too. The neighbours were cut-throat rivals as the tradition of targeting each other had begun a generation or two earlier. Abu and Afzal’s family members too were part of their gang activities with each having inflicted several bloody revenges on the other. Police source stated that while Abu mainly concentrated on extortions from local traders and shopkeepers, Sheikh and his gang engaged in robberies and looting.
The late 80s and early 90s witnessed the rise of the slain gangster Bharat Mohadikar and three-time MCOCA accused Santosh Ambekar in central and south-east Nagpur. Also, gangsters like Raju Vadre and his group started operating in areas of south and south-west Nagpur. Mohadikars brutal end after being released from jail a couple of years ago now means there are two main power centres in the city – Ambekar and Vadre, both having different political affiliations.
“These gangs now are completely engaged in settling disputed properties and have almost merged with land grabbing mafias,” said a cop. He added that some are also learnt to be accepting ‘suparis’ or contracts to kill, kidnap or threaten, and the stakes are believed to be very high. Mumbai don Arun Gawli is the hero of these ‘bhaus’. They nurture an ambition to walk into the state assembly one day. After the recent elections, Ambekar was photographed garlanding some victorious BJP candidates.
The rivalry between Tirupati Bhoge and Wasim Cheera in Shanti Nagar is more on communal lines. Local residents term it as a fight between Robin Hood Bhoge and Diabolic Cheera. Last year the gangs exchanged fire too.
History sheeter Rahul Meshram from Hiwre Nagar is the new face of Nagpur’s gang world. After being released from jail this year, he has been continuously engaged in social activities with the latest being his announcement to kick start ‘swacch bharat’ abhiyan from his slum on a common platform engaging members of different communities.
Other names cops are keeping a close eye on are Sumeet Thakur who operates from Friends Colony in Gittikhadan, Amar Lohkare, whose group operates from jail and is known as the ‘Maya gang’ and Girijya, who is based in Babulkheda. Senior inspector Avinash Shilimkar of crime branch stated that as on record police have around 20 gangs under its scanner along with their detailed activities and areas of operations.