The recent firing incident involving Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff has brought renewed attention to the changing nature of Mumbai’s underworld. In the incident, an alleged attacker reportedly failed to fire further shots because his gun malfunctioned, while reports emerged of the arrest of three suspects within a short period. The Lawrence Bishnoi gang has claimed responsibility for the attack. The incident has revived interest in Mumbai’s criminal history, when gangsters built their reputations through gang wars, serious criminal cases and police encounters.
The murders of Amirzada Khan, the encounter killing of Manya Surve and the shootout involving Maya Dolas in Lokhandwala remain prominent episodes in the history of organised crime. In contrast, contemporary gang activities also raise concerns about threats issued on social media and the alleged use of young men to carry out criminal operations.
On October 18, 2026, gunfire was reported at a car belonging to Tiger Shroff in Mumbai’s Juhu area. His driver and another person were reported injured. According to media reports citing police sources, one of the attackers could not fire further because his weapon jammed. All three suspects were reportedly apprehended from a train in Kota, Rajasthan, within 24 hours. Police are investigating their alleged links with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. Investigators are also attempting to establish who was behind the attack and who helped the accused.
Amirzada Khan was a prominent member of Mumbai’s old Pathan gang. According to reports, on February 12, 1981, Amirzada, his cousin Alamzeb Khan and Manya Surve, along with other attackers, shot dead Shabbir Kaskar, the brother of Dawood Ibrahim, at a petrol pump in Prabhadevi.
The killing intensified the rivalry between the Pathan gang and D-Company. The conflict between the two groups claimed several lives, and Amirzada became a prominent name in Mumbai’s underworld history because of the bloody gang war. In 1983, he was shot dead outside a sessions court in Mumbai. His death brought further attention to the cycle of gang violence and retaliatory killings.
Sadiq Jalawar, also known as Sadiq Kalia, was a prominent shooter associated with Chhota Shakeel’s gang. According to accounts of his criminal career, Chhota Shakeel asked him to kill his own brother-in-law, Zulfiqar, as a test of loyalty. Sadiq was deeply attached to his sister, but he allegedly stabbed Zulfiqar five times to establish his position in the gang. He subsequently became known as Sadiq Kalia.
Chhota Shakeel introduced him to Salim Chickna. During the 1990s, the two allegedly carried out several operations against Chhota Rajan’s gang. Police suspected that they were responsible for more than 20 murders. Kalia was also known as “Bhoot” in police circles because he could disappear easily. On December 12, 1997, he was killed in a police encounter in Mumbai’s Dadar area.
Venkatesh Bagga Reddy, also known as Baba Reddy, was a notorious shooter associated with Chhota Rajan’s gang. An unusual story about him claims that he once asked for goat’s blood during police questioning and began answering questions after receiving it. After arriving in Mumbai in 1989, he worked as a bouncer at a bar before joining Chhota Rajan’s gang.
He later became involved in the supply of illegal firearms. According to reports, he was killed in a police encounter in Hyderabad’s Jubilee Hills area in May 2008. His criminal career was associated with gang rivalries and several startling accounts. He was killed in the encounter in 2008.
Bunty Pandey, also known as Prakash Narayan Pandey, was once associated with Chhota Rajan’s gang before establishing his own network. His name surfaced in serious criminal cases involving murder, extortion and kidnapping. He also came under scrutiny in connection with the 1995 murder of Thakiyudeen Wahid, the head of East-West Airlines.
According to a 2025 report, the Gujarat CID Crime Branch arrested him while he was disguised as a sadhu. He was accused of involvement in the 2004 kidnapping and murder of Abubazar Khan, the son of an industrialist from Vapi. According to police, a ransom of Rs 5 crore was demanded from the family, but the young man was killed despite the demand. His alleged role in these cases, however, must be understood in light of the relevant court judgments.
Santosh Pangarkar’s name emerged in connection with the murder of businessman Sunit Khatau, one of Mumbai’s widely discussed underworld-related cases. According to a Hindustan Times report, on May 7, 1994, Khatau’s bulletproof Mercedes was stopped at a traffic signal on Mahalaxmi Bridge.
Two attackers arrived on a motorcycle. One of them smashed the car’s window with a hammer before shooting Khatau. Police arrested Santosh Pangarkar, an associate of Arun Gawli, approximately a week later in connection with the murder. The incident drew attention to alleged links between business interests, land disputes and the underworld in Mumbai.
Firoz Kokani is among the criminals associated with Mumbai’s old underworld. His real name is reported to be Firoz Abdullah Sarguroh, and he was associated with the Dongri area. His name surfaced in police investigations concerning networks linked to Dawood Ibrahim.
Reports have also mentioned allegations against him in connection with the 1994 murder of BJP MLA Ramdas Naik. The case raised questions about alleged links between Mumbai’s criminal networks and politics. Kokani’s name remains associated with serious allegations and suspected connections to organised crime, although criminal accusations and offences established in court are distinct matters.
Manya Surve, whose real name was Manohar Arjun Surve, was among the early gangsters to attract widespread attention in Mumbai. He became active in the city’s criminal world in the late 1970s and early 1980s. His name was linked to robberies and other criminal activities, at a time when several gangs were fighting over control of their respective territories.
On January 11, 1982, police killed Manya Surve in an encounter in Wadala. The incident is regarded as one of Mumbai’s early high-profile police encounters. His story became significant in discussions about the conflict between law enforcement agencies and organised crime.
Subhash Singh Thakur is another figure associated with serious gang-war cases in Mumbai’s underworld. He was convicted in the 1992 JJ Hospital shooting case, which occurred during the rivalry between Dawood Ibrahim’s gang and Arun Gawli’s gang.
The shooting inside the hospital claimed several lives, including those of two police personnel. The incident highlighted the severity of organised crime in Mumbai and the dangers posed by gang violence in public places. Thakur’s name became associated with the case and its lengthy legal history.
Dilip Buwa was another criminal associated with Mumbai’s old underworld and the Lokhandwala encounter. According to reports, he was initially linked to Ashok Joshi’s gang and later had associations with Maya Dolas. On November 16, 1991, a gunfight broke out between police and gang members at Lokhandwala Complex, in which Buwa was also killed.
The encounter attracted nationwide attention at the time. Buwa remains associated with this episode in Mumbai’s criminal history because the shootout brought the police’s operations against organised crime into the national spotlight.
Maya Dolas was among the most widely discussed figures in Mumbai’s underworld. He was associated with Dawood Ibrahim’s gang and was accused of involvement in several violent criminal incidents. He was killed during a police encounter at Lokhandwala Complex on November 16, 1991.
The encounter involved hours of gunfire and triggered widespread discussion about gang warfare in Mumbai. The film Shootout at Lokhandwala later brought his story to a wider audience. Dolas’s notoriety remains primarily associated with his alleged criminal network and the Lokhandwala shootout.
The Tiger Shroff firing case has once again drawn attention to the evolution of organised crime in Mumbai, from the violent gang wars of the 1980s and 1990s to contemporary allegations involving social media threats and young recruits. As police investigate the suspects’ alleged links to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang and the conspiracy behind the Juhu shooting, the case has renewed scrutiny of the networks, rivalries and methods associated with the city’s underworld.
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