TAPKA DAAL (KILL)

 1994 BOMBAY

”Tu Maqbool ko Ganesh Visarjan mein tapka daal. Iss kaam ke liye paanch khoka mil jayenga.........”

(You need to kill Maqbool during Ganesh immersion. You will get five crores for this work.......)

The line went dead. 

It was the call from Malaysia. The sum promised was huge. The assignment was difficult but doable.

Pulling out the sim card Prakash bent and cracked it into two. Flicking the pieces into an open gutter he now proceeded to destroy the burner mobile instrument. The inexpensive mobile phone had served its temporary use. Twisting its two half foldable parts apart he threw them into different garbage bins after cracking them. It would be difficult to trace the call or the phone. 

Ganpati Visarjan day was not far away.

A plan started to formulate in Prakash’s mind.

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Commissioner M A Khan was fuming.

”Maqsood is getting out of hand. He needs to be curtailed. We have to put an end to the havoc. I am getting too much pressure from the ministers in Mantralaya and from the press. I don't care how it is done. It needs to be done.”

Sitting across him were his two favourites, Assistant Police Inspector Prakash Sharma and Sanjay Tawde from the Andheri Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU). They were ‘Encounter cops’.

 It was a secret informal meeting and the minutes for this would not be logged.

Fed up by the havoc that gangs had spread across the life of the Bombay residents, Commissioner Khan had secretly got a squad of five sub-inspectors together. Under his tutelage, this small band of cops was put together to keep tabs on an underworld that was fast gaining ground.

They were compared to the Hollywood character Dirty Harry, played by Clint Eastwood and were given unofficial powers and the best of equipment to carry on their operations. 

They soon gained a reputation for their khabri network and their style of operation. They successfully carried out fake encounters of the undesirable elements. They were unofficially licenced to kill. 

This brought about a wave of fear among the baddies. It made the top brass of the Underworld flee from Bombay and set up headquarters in safe havens like Dubai, Malaysia and Nepal.

Their foot soldiers who were based in Bombay now got operational instructions on burner phones and pagers. Prospective victims got foreign originating calls on untraceable numbers. The scared victims were also given the numbers to call back the ‘Bhai’s’ which were on overseas networks with only one-time use instructions. Fear psychosis set in and they, without informing the police, silently bore the threats. It was getting difficult for the cops to trace these numbers.

Operating from Malaysia, Sheru aka Tiger was the big boss of the ‘T’ gang.

The ‘T’ came from Tiger.

Sheru had started his early days as a movie ticket black marketeer. He originally operated the gangs of his boys controlling the areas of Bombay Central, Tardeo and Grant Road that were bustling with popular cinema halls. He made a lot of his money from the popularity of Sholay. Whereat smaller cinemas and movie screenings his boys could be heard selling the tickets outside the House Full boarded theatres with, “panch ka dus,  panch ka dus” murmurs, he managed to sell Sholay 10 - 25 rupee tickets, at 100 -150 rupees. Enthusiastic patrons were waiting to somehow get their hands on  these scarce tickets. The business was good but rival gangs were trying to claw into his territory. To protect his domain he got into fights with other gangs and built up an army of muscle power. 

As year's passed he slowly moved on to higher and bigger pastures in the underworld. He used the boys in assignments of extortion.

Maqsood was a top shooter of the ’T’ gang and did most of Sheru’s dirty fieldwork.

When the extortion tactics reached a dead end and the victim for whatever reason refused to pay, he had to be killed.

Sheru would contact one of his shooters and give the instructions on the Kauwa or Chidiya.

News of these murders would send chills down spines of other victims. ’Dekh, Game Baja dala’ was the chilling message sent out by the ’Bhai’s’.

Business for these gangsters thrived.

Off lately, Sheru had a lot of ‘games’ in his hand. He was keeping Maqsood and other dedh shaana’s and shooters busy. 

The murders of businessmen had gone up in the city and law and order had gone for a toss. The home minister was under tremendous pressure from the press and the people and he was, in turn, increasing pressure on the police chief. This flow of events had got Commissioner Khan all worked up. 

He had now turned up the heat on the gangs and their operatives and this had infuriated  Sheru. It was a big vicious cycle.

This was the reason Sheru had made the call.

”Tu Maqbool ko Ganesh Visarjan mein tapka daal. Iss kaam ke liye Paanch Khoka mil jayenga.........’

He had also sent a pager message to Maqsood. 

He would kill two birds with one stone.  

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Girgaon Chowpatty, the beach along the Queen’s Necklace adjoining Marine Drive in Bombay was packed with revellers.  Ganesh Visarjan celebrations were in full swing with thousands of people from all over Bombay come to immerse the idols of Lord Ganesh in the Sea. In the normal course, Anant Chaturdashi falls 10 days after Ganesh Chaturthi. 

Several roads which lead to the iconic Girgaon Chowpatty remained closed during the Ganesh Visarjan occasion as the beach was witnessing some of the biggest Ganpati idols being immersed at the place. Lalbaugcha Raja, Ganesh Gallicha Raja, Tejukyacha Raja were some of the most popular Ganesh Idols along with hundreds and thousands of medium and small size pieces of art.

The final act of immersion was carried out after long hours of the procession.

Chants of ‘Ganpati Bappa Morya, agle baras tu jaldi aa’, and its Marathi version  ‘Ganpati Bappa Moriya, Pudhchya Varshi Lavkar yaa ... ’(Ganpati My Lord, return soon next year ...) filled the air as the crowds jostled with each other for space. 

Unfortunately in some followers, religious fervour was aided by alcoholic fuel Pavvas of Santra, Narangi, Mosambi.

 It was a security nightmare as unsociable elements were part of this crowd.

The police were in full force but no match for the overwhelming crowd.  

Commissioner M A Khan, who as he did every year, had driven down to Girgaon Chowpatty and sat perched on his parked jeep among the crowd. 

He was getting a briefing on the security arrangements.

Merged in the crowds, standing near the commissioner's jeep, API Prakash Sharma and Sanjay Tawde scoured the crowds for Maqsood. Their ‘khabari’ had given a solid tip that the shooter would be among the crowd.

In the distance, taking advantage of the crowds, Maqsood, face splattered with different coloured gulal and a headband, moved towards his target. Shuttling between the decorated chariots, palanquins and handheld idols he moved amidst the throng and he had the cop now in plain sight.

Simultaneously Inspector Prakash saw Maqsood. It was time to carry out his plan.

He slowly pulled out his unmarked silencer revolver from his holster unnoticed by the neighbouring crowd. Pointing towards the Commissioner of Police he shot him point-blank. The bulky police chief buckled under with the fatal shot. Unknown to all, Prakash had also become a hitman for the ‘T’ gang. The dirty cop would get this money for killing ’Maqbool’ ie Commissioner M A Khan ie Commissioner Maqbool Aslam Khan. As per the phone call, he would be given five crores for this work by Sheru. 

His plan was after killing the commissioner with an unmarked gun, he would kill Maqsood and plant the evidence gun that he shot the commissioner with on him. There would be a hue and cry as the blame for the police chief’s killing could be put on gangsters.

Pulling out his normal service revolver now he pointed towards Maqsood.

In this instance, tables had turned.

Bang Bang --  Maqsood aimed at Inspector Prakash Sharma and shot him. 

He managed to disappear into the crowd.

This was the target and the instructions given to him on the pager by his boss Sheru.

”Inspector Prakash Sharma Ganesh Visarjan main Maqbool Khan ko thok dene wala hai. Is jhamele mein Tu Prakash ko ghoda se daal dena. Phir soomdee mein wahan se kalti maarneka. Tera kharcha-paani pahunch jayenga.”

He had successfully carried out his assignment. He would be rewarded.

There were sprays of colour all around as colour powders were being flung into the air. Chants of ‘Ganpati Bappa Morya, agle baras tu jaldi aa’, continued as most of the people were unaware of the shootings. The usual loud sound of dhol tashas and drums along with the chants had also drowned it out. 

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Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!!

The sounds reverberated in the palatial lounge. 

Sitting in his haven miles away from all the commotion, swirling the glass of whiskey on the rocks in his hand, Sheru was having the last laugh. 

Weeks back, the pressure put by the Commissioner was unbearable. He had to get rid of him. At the same time, the corrupt cop Prakash, whom he had secretly employed, was getting greedy and his demands were getting higher and higher. 

He had to get rid of him as well.

He had put a master plan in action to kill both of them. 

It had been executed today.

He secretly said ’Cheers’ to himself and took a sip. 

He had succeeded.

He had managed to kill two birds with one stone.

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Glossary of Bombay tapori language :

Tapka daal -- roughly translates to kill someone

Khoka -- crores in rupee

Khabri  -- informant

Bhai -- a local Hoodlum

Panch ka dus -- five at the rate of ten, indicating the premium (for cinema tickets).

Ganpati Bappa Moriya, Pudhchya Varshi Lavkar yaa -- Ganpati My Lord, return soon next year

Kauwa (Hindi, crow) -- cellular phones 

Chidiya (Hindi, sparrow) -- pager

Dedh shaana -- smart-ass, smart-alec, extra smart

Game Baja dala- To kill someone. 

Thok dene -- Roughly translates to kill/pump in with bullets

Ghoda  (Hindi, horse) -- gun

Daal dena --roughly translates to "shoot with a gun"

Pavva - A quarter bottle (or 250ml packets) of country liquor. 

Santra, Narangi, Mosambi --  type of local liquors

Jhamele - commotion

Soomdee -- quietly or secretly

Kalti maarneka --get lost or go away

Kharcha-paani -- it means "stipend, pocket-money