1991 Lokhandwala Complex shootout
| 1991 Lokhandwala Complex shootout | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| Bombay police, Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) | D-Company | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Aftab Ahmed Khan |
Maya Dolas † Dilip Buwa † |
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| Strength | |||||||
| 80 to 100 policemen, including ATS officers. |
7 gangsters. | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 24 police officers wounded |
Gangsters: All 7 killed. |
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The 1991 Lokhandwala Complex shootout was a gunbattle that occurred on 16 November 1991 at the Lokhandwala Complex, Bombay (now Mumbai), between seven gangsters led by Maya Dolas and members of the Mumbai police and the ATS led by the then Additional Commissioner of Police, Aftab Ahmed Khan. The four-hour-long shootout was termed as India's "first daylight encounter" and was videographed and conducted in full view of the public. It ended in the deaths of all seven gangsters, including Maya Dolas, Dilip Buwa and Anil Pawar.
In the late 1980s, the Bombay underworld was under the firm control of the D-Company, headed by Dawood Ibrahim. From his base in Dubai, Ibrahim controlled underworld activities through his various lieutenants. Among the most prominent was Mahindra Dolas, a gangster who was known more popularly by his nickname Maya. Dolas had got his start running several successful extortion rackets for the Indian National Congress criminal-politician, Ashok Joshi's gang at Kanjurmarg. On 3 December 1988, Joshi was killed at the Bombay-Pune road near Panvel by a 15-man hit squad led by Chhota Rajan at Ibrahim's orders.
After Joshi's murder, Maya later broke out of the Ashok Joshi gang, and formed his own gang. He then convinced notorious Joshi gang sharpshooter Dilip Buwa to switch sides and together on 17 September 1989, they led a stealth attack against the Joshi gang in Kanjurmarg, in which five people were killed. This brought them into favour with Dawood Ibrahim, who was gunning for the Joshi gang after the killing of his pointman Satish Raje. Dolas and Buwa were a feared duo and soon began a steady rise within the ranks of the D-Company. They also conducted extortion activities on Ibrahim's behalf. However, they were also fugitives on the run, with ongoing arrest warrants for them. Maya Dolas, had in fact escaped from prison a few years prior to the shootout.
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