Aam Aadmi Party will come back on issues of bijli, paani and sadak

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January 10, 2020

Wining or losing elections depends on we, the voters. It depends upon literacy rate, as more literate people are aware about what’s going around us, what is better and what is worse. They usually do not get polarised in the name of casteism, religion, by following which some national parties usually wins the polls. The 2020 parliamentary elections won’t be a cakewalk for the BJP. The AAP party in Delhi gave an extraordinary performance and people are happy with the Kejriwal government. AAP is a new party. It lacks in experience, lacks in funds, lacks in big names in the party except one or two and still by standing in front of the big players like BJP-Congress they proved their mettle. Today, the AAP has earned lots of popularity and support from people. Despite the hurdles from the Central Government and other agencies, the AAP government has determinedly still managed to deliver for the people of Delhi especially for the lower and middle-class. They have done a tremendous job in the field of water, electricity, education and health which have largely benefited the public.

Moreover, the current sealing and demolition drives spearheaded by the BJP have negatively impacted its own image in Delhi. The Congress may become the main opposition party. Of course, the AAP has done a good work in the field of education and health especially mohalla clinic of international acclamation, free ride for ladies in DTC buses, underpass construction for commuters and vehicles from DND flyover to Ashram chowk, surplus revenue, improvement results in government schools, 24×7 free electricity up to 200 units and 50 per cent up to 400 units, free water up to 20000 litres, building of new roads, adding of new DTC buses, extension of the metro route, providing piped water, more than 1.4 lakh CCTVs, construction of class rooms and many more. These are the basic tasks done by the party which may boost up their voting share for further continuation of five years. Whatever Congress does in Delhi, there are very less chances for its survival in the present time. BJP has no credible leader in Delhi who can be projected as its CM face. The basic services given by AAP government are helping the lower class or the lower middle-class and the upper class but the upper class doesn’t care about these facilities. The upper middle-class is supporting Modi as they are seeing the trips and trade of Modi ji which is good but only when you have a house, electricity, water, roads etc. But this section constitutes a very little percentage in Delhi’s population and so the vote bank still lies with commoners. Looking at the overall scenario, one can see AAP winning and Kejriwal’s report card is the best example for its victory.

The spectacular victory of AAP in Delhi in 2015 was due to the total transfer of Congress votes to the AAP. BJP had retained its vote bank of 32 per cent, whereas Congress votes came down to 9 per cent which helped the AAP vote has zoomed up to a share of 54 per cent and 67 seats. In case if the Congress would have improved its share to 20 percent, the fight would have been neck-to-neck and the AAP may just scrape past. The party has done a fair job in making the life of a common man at ease. The BJP does not have a concrete agenda of how they will take things forward; they are just playing a card of hate politics and either criticising opposition or claiming the good work. The reasons behind it is that the AAP has many leaders of high integrity and the best among them is Arvind Kejriwal. After a long time, India has produced a leader of such calibre, qualification and integrity. AAP came up with innovative ideas like door step delivery of 40 important goods, 1 crore compensation to martyrs, homeguards in buses.

Delhi Assembly election is a closely contested three-dimensional political battle. The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of Arvind Kejriwal, the Delhi Chief Minister, has everything at stake in the Delhi Assembly election for this is the only place where it is in power. Stakes are not high for the BJP as it has failed to make a comeback in Delhi since 1998. The Congress, which formed three consecutive governments in Delhi under the late Sheila Dikshit can practically claim victory if it dampens BJP’s chances of return to power in Delhi. Despite officially saying that it is contesting to come back to power, every Congress leader in Delhi knows that their claim is unrealistic given its ground strength. Surveys too indicate that Kejriwal is taking his AAP to power for the second time but with reduced strength in the Delhi Assembly. The AAP is officially aiming to win more than 67 (its 2015 tally) of the 70 seats in the Delhi Assembly election. However, if one factors in the AAP’s performance in the Lok Sabha election, this target looks extremely ambitious. But then voters across India have shown different preferences in national and local elections. Kejriwal seems to be wary of the Modi wave and has tried not to target the prime minister in person. In many elections in the past, when Modi was made the subject of personal target, he has turned the scale in his favour. The AAP leadership including the Chief Minister has stayed away from launching personal attacks on Modi and have rather focused on showcasing their work for the public and achievements instead. The Congress is in tatters in Delhi. The district units of the party had been fighting openly till recently. The party has failed to enter into an alliance with the AAP that has noticeable support on the ground. The deal failed during the Lok Sabha election which the AAP leadership suspected would be a cakewalk for the BJP and had approached Rahul Gandhi, then Congress president for a tie-up.

The Congress’s performance in Delhi in the Lok Sabha election is said to have surprised even some within the party hierarchy. The party finished second in five of the seven constituencies pushing the AAP to a distant third. But recent surveys show that people have clear preferences for Delhi Assembly election with no regards for the Lok Sabha election trend. Still, the Congress is expected to do well in areas where anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests were intense. The visits by Congress leaders such as Salman Khurshid to protester’s camps have generated a lot of goodwill for the Congress particularly among Muslim voters who are dominating voters in five constituencies and may influence electoral outcome on 5-10 other seats. If the Congress actually makes inroads in such areas and manages to get some hold back in constituencies dominated by slums and unauthorised colonies, there may be a surprise in store in the upcoming Delhi Assembly election. Delhi’s electorates are sharply divided among certain categories of Purvanchalis, Punjabis, Muslims, upper caste-baniya combine and slums. They have traditionally been voters to one party or the other. The AAP broke this pattern in 2015. And one can expect the same in 2020 too.

(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)

Major fire breaks out at cloth factory in Bhiwandi, 4 fire tenders are on spot

By

Hema Singh

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January 10, 2020

A massive fire broke out at a cloth godown in Bhiwandi area in Thane district on Friday. As per a report, 4 fire tenders are on the spot to douse the blaze. No casuality has been reported so far.

Maharashtra: Fire breaks out at a cloth godown in Bhiwandi. 4 fire tenders present at the spot. pic.twitter.com/TNBe1ACExZ

— ANI (@ANI) January 10, 2020

The reason behind the fire is yet to be ascertained. More details are awaited.

Read comic books for a better way of understanding life

By

M Pradyu

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January 10, 2020

Many years ago, there was a time when children used to rush to the portico to get a grab of the daily newspaper and briskly skip the pages to see a page meant especially for them (the page which transported the kids of that generation to the world of their favourite comic character who appeared in comic strips).

It was a pleasure for the kids to know the latest crisis and conflict and the way in which their favourite hero escaped from deadly traps and hard core villains and get ready to move on to the next episode. This was the time when Mandrake the magician with his macho pal Lothar thrashed, bashed and crushed the evil doers and it was a time when Phantom the ghost who walks- simply pulped even the most dangerous of the bad men with his brain and brawn!

It was a time when Superman and Batman not to forget our Spiderman who mesmerised the kids with their stunts and miraculous escapes from deadly villains! And of course a set of other heroes like Zorro, Green Lantern, Captain America, Tarzan and of course the rib ticklers Disney’s Uncle Scrooge, Mickey and Donald and their big family who showed the generation the path to real enjoyment, a path to a world of do good and be good and inculcating in the young minds that “the right always triumphs.’’

I remember when I was in class four I wrote a letter to Mandrake to come and save me from some class bullies! Whether the letter reached his house in ‘’ Xanadu’’ God alone knows! But that was the influence that comics had in the hearts of our generation sans Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the whole bunch of social media network that has simply imprisoned the hearts of today’s children.

Time has changed. It is only with awe and bewilderment that one can watch the way in which cyber technology is creating rapid ripples in our day-to-day life. Gone are the days of the comics, the television and the play stations. Now it is the age of Direct to home digital viewing, 3D TV’s, LCDs, Androids, Ipads and a hundred and one other e-gizmos, apps and online games!

Technology has improved our lifestyle, enhanced our knowledge, promoted and redefined our sociability. Now, glance through the pages of any daily, tune into any channel or click any e-gadget that supplies day to day happenings –violence, bloodshed, riots, murders and all sorts of evils that dominate the scenario and that too aided by technology. It poses a question-how and why –in this modern cyber age era, does technology turn fatal. It turns fatal when one forgets oneself ….and when one forgets one’s culture and heritage and of course the values of love, peace and harmony. It is here that I would like to mention the contribution made by Late Sri Ananth Pai (uncle Pai), the pioneer of Indian comics or better known as the creator of Amar Chitra Katha and Tinkle.

The teens of the 1970s and the 80s can never forget the pleasure they had while browsing through the pages of those colourful comic books. Ananth Pai created those books in order to show the young Indians the route to their roots after sadly noting the ignorance of the teens regarding their great Indian culture and heritage. He proved that reading not only refreshes, it even moulds an individual’s character and thereby the society. Reading has the power to take the young and the old back to their great culture, tradition and heritage. Inculcating the habit of reading, leads to creativity and high thinking and it is here that I would like to say that reading, especially comic books does give many benefits to young minds.

I remember my childhood days, when I used to spend hours together at the very famous old book market road adjacent to the Corporation clock tower in Coimbatore city, browsing through comics of all hues and sizes, foreign and desi and packing them home to add up to my collection of comics. Thanks to my parents who only encouraged me to read comics.

Many criticise the habit of comic book reading saying that it is gaudy, fictitious and time killing. I remember an English teacher of our days in my school in Coimbatore distributing comic books during our library and free periods and encourage us all to tell the stories to our classmates. Now, as an English teacher, I do realise that my teacher was only trying to enhance our reading and speaking skills in a very entertaining and novel manner. As a senior teacher, I have realised that comics are perfect vehicles that ignites young readers to improve imagination and artistic skills. Comics also help to increase the vocabulary through the connection between words and images. They are useful for English language learners. It develops appreciation for different literary styles, teaches positive messages and opens the readers mind to new ways of story telling, imagination and artistic talent. So next time if you find children engrossed in the pages of comics books or are found browsing one or hiding a bunch of these ‘’funnies’’ as they are called, it is better not to chide them but encourage them to read the books provided they are reading good content, language and a child friendly image packed book with understandable dialogues. Truly these books are free of toxic which sadly is high in most of the e-entertainment found today and readily accessible to innocent minds. Let comics guide them to a better way of understanding life, literature and language.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of AFTERNOON VOICE and AFTERNOON VOICE does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.

Is it time for Dhoni to hang his boots?

By

Jayanthy Subramaniam

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January 10, 2020

We all expect retirement of M.S. Dhoni from all forms of the game. This debate has raised many questions as he was India’s prolific run getter in one day matches. Dhoni was speculative about his retirement but the selectors ignored him and he could not get a call for the home series against South Africa and West Indies. He had said not to ask him questions about his international future till January 2020 during an interaction with the press last year. While India’s selectors have indicated that they are moving on and have put their faith in Rishabh Pant in T20 cricket, Dhoni’s game sense, acumen and unmatched reflexes as a wicket keeper continue to make a case for him.

No one will voluntarily retire from the cricketing field as the stakes are very high and the players get huge amount of money if they are able to get a central contract in any of the three categories. Thus the long list of Sourav Ganguly, Anil Kumble, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Zaheer Khan now people are taking about Dhoni’s retirement from all forms of cricket. It is time for Indian players to perform or perish and not bask in the past glory all the time.

BCCI President Ganguly said he will speak to selectors about the former captain’s future. Former India skipper Dhoni, 38, has been away from international cricket since India’s exit from the World Cup after losing the semi-final clash to New Zealand. Significantly, the former Indian captain’s retirement from international cricket has been a matter of debate in recent times with every cricketer giving their views. Incidentally, Dhoni kicked Ganguly out of the Indian side when the wicket keeper batsman was leading the team in all the three formats.

In 2008, Dhoni had not picked Ganguly and Rahul Dravid in the ODI squad for the tri-series in Australia, forcing Ganguly to return home when the Test-match leg of that tour ended. Now after 11 years, the tables have turned to some extent, with Ganguly in a position to influence the final stages of Dhoni’s career, which began in spectacular fashion on his watch.

Ganguly has always maintained that Dhoni would need to be clear about the road ahead and communicate that to the team management led by Virat Kohli, the captain, and Ravi Shastri, the head coach, and most importantly the selection panel. Now, bitter pill called retirement is to be administered soon and it is better to quit when people ask why and not quipped Why Not?

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

Letters to the Editor: 10 January, 2020

By

Web Team

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January 10, 2020

1Yesudas: The celestial singer

The “Gana Gandharvan” or celestial singer of Indian film music Dr KJ Yesudas ,as he is called, will turn 80 on 10th January this year. The iconic playback singer and Carnatic vocalist has rendered more than 80,000 songs ( that include filmi, light music, devotional etc) in various languages including Malayalam,Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Hindi and many Indian languages in a career that spans for six decades. He had to face a lot of odds in his early years before becoming one of the most sought-after playback singer in Indian film industry. He started his career with the song in “Kaalpadukal “composed by South Indian music Maestro MB Sreenivasan in 1961.Then onwards there was no looking back as the legendary singer teamed with prominent music directors like G Devarajan , M S Baburaj, Salil Chaudhari ,MS Viswanathan ,Ilaiyaraaja and Hindi music film directors like Khayyam, Bappi Lahiri, Ravindra Jain and others and came out with beautiful evergreen soul lilting numbers. Music is his life and soul and his commitment to carnatic classical music makes him a singer par excellence. He has sung in all the Indian languages except Punjabi, Assamese, Konkani and Kashmiri. He has sung even in English,Malay ,Russia, Arabic and Latin.

A recipient of the great Padma Vibhushan, Yesudas has won eight national awards 43 state awards and five film awards and many others including the 1999 UNESCO honorary music and peace award and the CNN IBN outstanding achievement award. Be it spiritual, filmi, carnatic, folk or western he renders any number with elan. His famous “Harivarasanam” ,a devotional prayer song , is played every night at the famous Sabarimala temple before the closure of the temple .

Whoever can forget his Immortal Hindi numbers –Gori Tera Gaon Bada Pyara, Dil Ke Tukde, Aaj se pehle, Jaaneman Jaaneman, Tu Jo Mere Sur Mein, Kahan Se Aaye Badra and the Tamil numbers – En Iniya Pon Nilave, Senthazham Poovil, Devam Thantha Veedu and Amma Endralaikatha and the innumerable Malayalam hits and songs in the other languages making him a phenomenon and this mellifluous singer is truly a glowing star in the star studded Indian music galaxy. Here’s wishing him a long and healthy life.

M Pradyu

2Upgrade public transport

Parking fines being reduced to Rs. 4000 is a welcome move as the fines are not tools to generate revenue for any government but it is a move to impose discipline. Parking in a metropolitan city like Mumbai as well as the conditions of roads is a bigger challenge. Fines are a deterrent but facilities to are important if you expect citizens to follow rules and the law of the land.

Also, public transport too should be improved so that people do not have to use private cars. Metro would solve Mumbai’s traffic and parking problems in the years to come but one expects BMC to repair potholes and make roads fit for driving till that time.

S.N. Kabra

3Integration of helpline numbers into single number a right step

The recent move by Indian Railways to integrate all of its helpline numbers into a single number i.e. 138 is welcome. Services related to catering, passenger safety, security, medical emergency, vigilance, clean my coach and catering is now available with a dedicated helpline number-138. The move comes at a time when the common man otherwise faced confusions to reach out through multiple helpline numbers often leading to delay in services requested.

Further it is suggested to establish a grievance handling mechanism through its dedicated common helpline number. An effort is now required to gather necessary inputs directly from the passengers through telephone. The grievance mechanism may be integrated with IVRS facility to collect the inputs from the passengers directly over the telephone. The suggested move will help the passengers to report grievances very quickly, apart from the existing facility of Rail Madad application available to lodge online grievances.

Varun Dambal

4Deal is done chaos continue

Shiv Sena led Maha Vikas Aghadi is trying to settle down, but the portfolio allocation brought the displeasure of many from Sena and Congress leaving NCP a safe bet in the Home Ministry formation. NCP got both Home and Finance departments and that put them in driver’s seat. The two other coalition partner members fume in silence missing a golden chance to get a ministerial birth. Whereas first time MLA got a ministerial birth despite showing inexperience and there is smoke in Maha Vikas Aghadi and that may turn to fire sooner or later. People waiting to get plum portfolios were disappointed and there is already threat of resigning the MLA post. The Shiv Sena list include CM Uddhav Thackeray’s son and blue eyed boy got the place of his choice. The tainted Ajit Pawar got the planning and finance after getting elected as deputy CM for the second time in a very short period.

Calicut Krishnan Subbu

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

2 men posing as RTI activists held for extorting money from sculptor in Santacruz

By

Hema Singh

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January 10, 2020

The Mumbai police on Thursday arrested two men who were allegedly extorting money from a sculptor in Santacruz by posing as RTI activists of the H East ward.

According senior inspector of Vakola Police Station, Kailash Awhad, the duo demanded Rs 20,000 from the victim alleging that he was carrying out structural changes in his residence without the necessary permissions. The police arrested the accused people late on Wednesday night. The two have been identified as Dinesh Singh and Ramesh Pardeshi.

The complaint Mangesh Bhagat said that the accused men told him that they were RTI activists and would lodge a complaint to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) if he failed to pay the said money. Bhagat told the police that he gave Rs. 4000 to them. However, after the duo continued to demand more money from him, he approached the police and filed an FIR against them.

The duo has been booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 384 (extortion).

Rana Daggubati walks out of Bhuj: The Pride of India citing health reasons

By

Afternoon Voice

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January 10, 2020

After Parineeti Chopra dropped out of the Ajay Devgn-starrer Bhuj:The Pride of India, news is that Rana Daggubati has also walked out of the film. He was to play the role of a Madras Regiment Lieutenant Colonel who was posted in Vighakot Chowki and fought in the war.

Reports say that the actor has cited health reasons for not doing the film. As per reports, the makers were keen to have Rana on board and even offered to hire a body double for the actor, but things didn’t work out. Others say that the actor might have walked out of the film due to dates.

Rana Daggubati, who had undergone a major physical transformation for the Baahubali series, had lost considerable weight a few months ago. His losing weight had his fans concerned. Some were of the say that the actor had gone to the US for a kidney transplant. But this was dismissed by the actor.

Daggubati is currently working in a Telugu film Hiranyakashyapa which is right now at the pre-production stage. The film directed by Gunasekar is said to be the costliest Telugu film ever made, surpassing the budget of Baahubali as well.

Rana has another romantic film titled Virata Parvam 1992 that will have Rana playing a cop while Sai Pallavi will be seen as a Naxalite who is in love with the cop.

Meanwhile, Bhuj has been slated to release on Independence Day 2020. The Abhishek Dudhaiya directorial also features Sanjay Dutt, Sonakshi Sinha and Ammy Virk in pivotal roles.

Ranveer Singh and Yash Raj Films are coming together on what he has called ‘a miracle script’ penned by debutant writer-director Divyang Thakkar. The first-timer is directing Ranveer in a humourous entertainer set in Gujarat and the superstar will be seen playing the role of a Gujarati man for the first time with Jayeshbhai Jordaar. Ranveer, who is neck-deep in shooting for the film, is now travelling to Gujarat to shoot the second schedule of the film along with his heroine Shalini Pandey, the Arjun Reddy famed girl who is making her big Bollywood debut with YRF.

“It is an extensive shooting schedule in the heartland of Gujarat. All details are being kept under wrap because crucial portions of the film are going to be shot in the state. Ranveer has a huge fan following in Gujarat as he has mesmerised them with his performances and there is an expectation that massive crowds will fill up shooting locations. The production team wants to shoot as smoothly as possible and are being light lipped about the venues. The film is set in Gujarat, so this schedule is extremely vital. The team will keep a low profile while shooting in the state. Ranveer and Shalini are both heading to Gujarat today,” informs a source privy to this information.

Ranveer seems to have visibly transformed himself again, shedding many kilos and the first look of the film was an instant hit. He looked unrecognisable as a Gujarati man who was definitely trying to protect the women standing behind him. Ranveer isn’t going to play the alpha hero as played by leading men in Bollywood and from the first look, it is obvious that the film will champion the cause of women empowerment.

While speaking about his look, Ranveer had said, “As Charlie Chaplin once said, ‘To truly laugh, you must be able to take your pain, and play with it!’. Jayeshbhai is an unlikely hero – an ordinary man, who ends up doing something extraordinary when he’s hurled into a threatening situation. Jayeshbhai is sensitive and compassionate. He believes in equal rights between men and women in a society that is deeply rooted in patriarchal ideals, practices and doctrines. Jayeshbhai presented an exciting challenge – to deconstruct myself in order to transform into a kind of character I’ve never inhabited before.”

Ranveer has stamped his superstardom with his incredible body of work. He’s been consistently collaborating with all the top film-makers of the country and has also been displaying exceptional script-sense in selecting projects. He has instinctively backed stories like Padmaavat, in which he wowed the world with his portrayal of an anti-hero in Alauddin Khillji and extended his extraordinary range in Gully Boy, a content film that went on to become a blockbuster. Today, he has amassed nationwide love as an actor across all demographics. So, Jayeshbhai Jordaar, being produced by YRF’s homegrown producer and film-maker Maneesh Sharma, is definitely a film to watch out for!

Sex racket busted: Struggling model, Amrita Dhanoa ex-girlfriend of Arhaan Khan held from 5-star hotel in Goregaon

By

Hema Singh

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January 10, 2020

Struggling actress and Bigg Boss 13 contestant, Arhaan Khan’s ex girlfriend Amrita Dhanoa was arrested by the Mumbai police on Thursday from a 5-star hotel in Goregaon. The police raided an on-going party and held Dhanoa along with another struggling actress Richa Singh and took them into police custody

According to Raju Kabse, senior inspector of the Samta Nagar police station, they conducted a raid on a 5-star hotel in the suburbs on Thursday after they got a tip from their sources following which they went ahead and busted the sex racket. The police report says that they have booked both the actresses under Sections 370 (3), 34 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Sections 4 and 5 of Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act.

Dhanoa claims that she was in a live-in relationship for almost five years with Khan who is currently dating Television actress Rashmi Desai. As per sources, the police rescued two escorts (unnmaed) and found out that they were coordinating with Amrita and Richa who were in the vicinity of the hotel. Police also said that when Dhanoa came to know about the raid, she tried to escape from the spot. However, the police arrested her. Currently, the case has been registered at the Dindosi police station. Further action in the matter is underway.

Ejaz Lakdawala – Yesteryear gangster arrested

By

Afternoon Voice

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January 9, 2020

Lakdawala, who was on the run for the last 20 years, has been arrested and detained by Mumbai Crime Branch’s anti-extortion cell team at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. Lakdawala, who has 27 cases registered against him, has been remanded to police custody till January 21.

Lakdawala worked for underworld don Dawood Ibrahim under Chhota Rajan before forming his own gang, said the police. His daughter Sonia Lakdawala, who after her marriage, changed her name as Soniya Shaikh was arrested last month from the Mumbai Airport when “she was trying to flee the country with help of a passport acquired through fake documents,” according to the police.

Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjay Barve said, “We brought Ejaz to Mumbai to verify his identity and booked him at 10.30 pm. There were 25 cases of murder, attempt to murder and extortion case registered against Lakdawala in Mumbai and two in other parts of Maharashtra.” Barve hailed his arrest as a “major achievement.

Ejaz Lakdawala is a former member of the Chhota Rajan gang. Initially, Lakdawala was among the close confidants of Dawood who used to provide logistical support to D-Company members in Mumbai for extorting Bollywood film producers and businessmen. Both the Mumbai and the Delhi police wanted him in over 24 cases of extortion and attempt to murder.

Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Santosh Rastogi said while efforts to trace Lakdawala were intensified six months ago, the breakthrough came with the arrest of his daughter Sonia (22) on December 28. The police had gradually pushed Lakdawala into a corner after first arresting his brother Aqeel in March 2019.

In 2003, there was a rumour of him having been killed when Dawood’s gang-members, angered by his allegiance to Chhota Rajan, opened fire on him in a crowded market in Bangkok.

In May 2004, he was arrested by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada following an Interpol red corner notice for him. He was admitted to a hospital from where he escaped in June 2003 and fled to South Africa.

Reportedly, Lakdawala was heard to be last operational from Nepal where he lived under the guise of a hosiery businessman and travelled to the United States of America, Malaysia, Canada, Ghana and several countries in Europe under various aliases.

In April 2019, Ejaz’s elder brother, Akeel Yusuf Lakdawala was arrested by AEC for allegedly demanding Rs 50 lakh from a Khar-based developer on Ejaz’s instruction.

With his arrest and deportation of Chhota Rajan, there are speculation that he would play a key role in proving information about Dawood and his gang.

On a tip off by daughter, Ejaz Lakdawala apprehended

By

Vaidehi Taman

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January 9, 2020

On a tip of by his daughter, the Mumbai police arrested Ejaz Lakdawala. In the early morning of January, 09 the police arrested him. His arrest comes on the heels of his daughter Sonia Lakdawala alias Sonia Shaikh’s arrest a fortnight ago at Mumbai International Airport while she was trying to fly to Nepal on a forged passport. After arrest, he was produced before a Mumbai court and remanded to police custody till January 21. There are speculations that this arrest can bring many underworld equations to surface and also on his inputs Dawood may get traced.

Ejaz is involved in more than 20 cases of extortion, attempted murder and rioting. The Mumbai police was trying to arrest Lakdawala for the last six months but they got important leads after arresting his daughter on December 28. The police got to know that Ejaz would be visiting Patna on Wednesday and that’s how they grabbed him and brought him back to Mumbai last night. Lakdawala, who is in his 50s, studied in Bandra’s St. Stanislaus School and started out as an employee in his uncle’s transport company. In 1993, he killed one Haren Mehta after an altercation with him at a cricket match for which he was jailed but was later acquitted in 1995. Lakdawala is one of the most wanted gangsters from Mumbai.

In May 2003, he was rumoured to have been killed when Dawood’s gang-members, also known as D-Company, angered by his fidelity to Chhota Rajan, opened fire at him in a crowded market of Bangkok. However, he survived and moved to Canada, there he got in business. In May 2004, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada following an Interpol red corner notice for him, arrested him.

Lakdawala worked for Dawood Ibrahim under Chhota Rajan before they parted ways and formed his own gang. Before 1993, he lived in Malaysia, United States, Nepal, among other countries over the past one-decade. Though he kept on visiting India frequently, but the police could not succeed in tracing him.

After the split of Dawood Ibrahim gang in the aftermath of the 1993 blasts in Mumbai, Lakdawala started working with Chhota Rajan. During his term in the prison, Lakdawala came into contact with Sunil Madgaonkar alias Matya who eased him into the world of Mumbai’s underworld. Matya, a top associate of Chhota Rajan is also credited to have nurtured Rajan’s favourite hit man Rohit. Verma alias Hammer – who was killed in the 2000 shootout at Bangkok in which Rajan escaped with injuries.

Initially, Lakdawala was among the close confidants of Dawood who used to provide logistical support to D-Company members in Mumbai for extorting Bollywood film producers and businessmen. But after Rajan split with Dawood, Lakdawala chose to walk away with Rajan. In fact, his first job in the underworld came through Matya who ordered him to kill Farid Rajji, an aide of Dawood confidant Chhota Shakeel. But Rajji survived the attempt on his life in 1996 and Lakdawala was arrested and sent to the Nashik Jail. He escaped from the jail in 1998 and reached Malaysia. He later shifted his base to Bangkok where he associated himself with Chhota Rajan. In 2003, Lakdawala is believed to have played a major role in the killing of D-Company’s chief financier Sharad Shetty in Dubai that saw Shakeel order a hit on Ejaz Lakdawala. He was shot in a busy market place in Bangkok in 2003, but he survived seven bullet injuries and was admitted to a hospital in Bangkok from where he escaped to South Africa and later to Canada.

Lakdawala was last operational from Nepal where he lived under the guise of a hosiery businessman and travelled to United States of America, Malaysia, Canada, Ghana and several countries in Europe under various aliases, said crime branch sources.

Lakdawala is wanted in several extortion cases in Mumbai, Delhi and other parts of the country. In 2016, the crime branch arrested Ejaz’s brother Akhil alias Merchant and cousin Sameer Lakdawala in connection with an extortion case.

After quitting the Rajan gang, Lakdawala started his own extortion group and randomly kept threatening builders, hoteliers and film personalities.

There was an Interpol notice issued against him. After shootout at Rajan, he shifted to Canada and was known to be living there with a fake identity.

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