The year was 2005.
Two men, wanted sharpshooters from the underworld, entered India from Bangkok via West Bengal (24 Parganas). They were being guided by a handler whose voice sounded less like that of a gangster and more like that of a professional.
The handler instructed them to move to Delhi and meet him at a designated location in the suburbs of the city.
At the same time, a seasoned police officer in Mumbai was monitoring the activities and whereabouts of wanted underworld gangsters. He picked up intelligence about the two men entering India and moving towards Delhi.
After seeking permission from his superiors, he assembled a squad and left Mumbai for Delhi to apprehend them.
Meanwhile, in Dubai, a wedding reception was about to be hosted. It was expected to be attended by several notorious and wanted gangsters. The occasion was the marriage of a Pakistani cricketer’s son to the daughter of a gangster who had been hiding outside India for the previous 19 years.
The opportunity was too significant for India and its intelligence apparatus to ignore. They had to do something.
An Indian agency allegedly reached out to a retired operative who, in turn, could recruit someone capable of eliminating this “Big Fish” in Dubai. The idea was to execute it through outsourcing without being seen in the picture. But who will be that someone, capable of eliminating the Big Fish?
The Big Fish once had a close friend who had helped him build his empire. But one day, the friend was cut off from the inner circle because he was a “kafir.” Later, driven by jealousy and insecurity, the Big Fish allegedly sought to eliminate his friend as well.
To save himself, the friend escaped from Dubai in 1995, with the assistance of Indian agencie and established himself in Bangkok, vowing to destroy the empire he had helped create.
The bald man (the handler) believed this guy can be that someone. He contacted this friend and asked him to send two of his sharpshooters for the operation. He was meeting them in Delhi before dispatching them on a mission to Dubai to eliminate the Big Fish.
The two men arrived in Delhi, and the handler was discussing the plan with them in a shanty house on the outskirts of the city.
The logistics were in place, and India was determined to eliminate the Big Fish. The meeting was nearing its end when there was a knock on the door.
The handler opened it and found a Mumbai Police squad, headed by a DCP and armed to the teeth.
A heated confrontation followed over the custody of the two sharpshooters who had entered India through West Bengal. (they had multiple cases against them in Mumbai)
A turf war between the intelligence agency and Mumbai Police ensued. After nearly an hour, the DCP, unmindful of the operation allegedly being planned in Dubai, took custody of the two gangsters and, without waiting for final instructions, brought them to Mumbai, where their arrest was formally registered and documented.
The bald man (the handler) was forced to retreat, and the plan to eliminate the Big Fish was reportedly abandoned.
The Big Fish also got wind of the plot probably and chose not to attend his daughter’s wedding reception in Dubai.
Thus, a turf war between security agencies allegedly cost India a rare opportunity to eliminate a man who had remained hidden for a very long time.
Key figures (as alleged in the account):
1. The two sharpshooters who entered India through West Bengal - Farid Tanasha and Vicky Malhotra
2. The friend who based himself in Bangkok - Chhota Rajan
3. The Big Fish - Dawood Ibrahim
4. Pakistani cricketer - Javed Miandad
5. DCP, Mumbai Police - Dhananjay Kamlakar
6. The handler - allegedly Ajit Doval
Disclaimer: Reported by the Journalists, denied by the agencies.