Baby Patankar returns with a scam, dupes Sobo businessman for gold

Many Mumbaikars know Shashikala Ramesh Patankar by her nickname lsquoBabyrsquo Hailing from the 8x8 shanty in Worlirsquos Siddharth Nagar Baby ran a drug syndicate to infiltrate Mumbairsquos streets with the highly addictive psychoactive stimulant lsquoMeow Meowrsquo Although she was arrested many times her drug empire finally came to an end in 2015 Despite several legal cases she managed to escape the barsForward to 2023 Baby has returned again facing allegations of swindling a Customs clearing agent on the pretext of supplying 5 kg gold at a cheaper price Although no arrests have been made so far the authorities at the Worli Police Station are planning to issue her a notice to appear before the courtA seasoned outlaw Babyrsquos tryst with crime goes way back to the 80s era of Mumbai informs Srinath Rao the author of ndash ldquoMeow Meow The Incredible True Story of Baby PatankarrdquoFrom milk to Mephedrone The rise of a drug queen pinBaby transitioned from a humble milk vendor earning a few hundred rupees each month in the 1980s to the accused mastermind of a thriving drug empire Her journey qualifies for a thick plot worthy of a Bollywood thriller movie On a parallel note filmmaker Sanjay Gupta has announced a film to chronicle Patankarrsquos astonishing ragstoriches taleSarthak name changed due to privacy reasons reveals how Mephedrone MD had gripped the city in the early 2000s ldquoFrom college students to young professionals ndash Everyone was hooked to it back then It went by the name meowmeow and we always bought it from Baby Her maal stuff was the purest and you could identify it from the faint yellowcoloured crystals that came in the shape of rice kernels One hit and it made you feel energetic confident and extremely happy ndash it was too addictiverdquoBaby had established an extensive distribution network which allowed her to control a significant portion of the illicit drug trade Her strategic positioning of mules in Mumbairsquos drug supply chain coupled with the potent nature of the substance attracted a vast clientele As the demand for mephedrone surged so did her profitsWith more patrons came enormous wealth that Baby utilised to buy elaborate properties She bought an apartment in Gorai one in Palghar multiple flats in Worli and Mahim two plots in Savantwadi a bungalow in Pune and yet this is just the tip of the iceberg The police assert that Patankar possessed 22 properties in both Mumbai and Pune worth Rs 100 crore along with fixed deposits amounting to Rs 12 croreSo what exactly is Mephedrone or Meow MeowThe drug gained notoriety as a widely consumed synthetic stimulant in the early 2000s in Mumbai This white crystalline powder was often sold in small packets of 1 gram priced at Rs 2000 It became popular due to its euphoric and stimulating effects similar to those of traditional amphetamines or MDMAIt was addictive as it triggered the rapid release of neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin in the brain resulting in intense feelings of euphoria increased energy and heightened alertness Users reported a strong desire to recreate these pleasurable sensations leading to frequent and compulsive consumptionHowever Meow Meow was also notorious for its potential health risks This led to widespread concerns about its usage and prompted law enforcement crackdowns on its distribution Despite being illegal under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 2010 its accessibility and popularity made it a prominent substance in Mumbais drug sceneInnocence or ingenious escapeIn April 2015 Baby was arrested following the discovery of 112 kilograms of mephedrone in the residence of her alleged partner Head Constable Dharmaraj Kalokhe stationed at the Marine Drive Police StationHowever as the case unfolded forensic tests revealed that the substances seized were not mephedrone but rather the food additive MSG also known as Ajinomoto This revelation led to the discharge of Patankar from the case as there was no material to implicate Baby and her nexus of drug mules Now this is a matter of speculation as to who placed more than 100 kilograms of Ajinomoto at Kalokhersquos condoIt is suggested by senior police authorities that Patankar might have manipulated not just Kalokhe but also the entire police establishment by deliberately providing the constable with ample ajinomoto and falsely asserting it to be mephedroneThe case cast doubt on the integrity of the police investigation Mumbaibased lawyer Ayaz Khan who represented Patankar opined that it was an easy case to crack Patankars seemingly cakewalk discharge brought to light the complexities of drugrelated prosecutions especially when a cop himself is involved in the operationsCut to 2019 ndash After four years of accusing Patankar and Kalokhe of having over 124 kilograms of mephedrone and four forensic tests yielding inconclusive results the police opted to charge them solely for possessing 20 grams of charas imported liquor and a forged voter identity card Despite her legal victory Patankars story necessitates the need for effective law enforcement in the battle against the drug trade in the cityThe start of a criminal journeyThe emergence of women in the drug trade or the operation of illicit liquor in Mumbais slums was primarily driven by necessity During the 80s and the 90s they attracted less attention from the police compared to the men involved in similar activitiesBack in 1977 Baby was barely able to make ends meet by selling milk and working as a housemaid Unable to pay rent for a tiny shanty at the hills of Worli Naka ndash she moved uphill and mounted her own home at the top of a hill in Siddharth Nagar With very little to supplement her income ndash she gave in to the proposal of Baliram Pujari an acquaintance who saw her as an asset in distributing drugsBaliram popularly known as lsquoMamarsquo had established ties with dealers in Worli Tardeo and Victoria Terminus Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus He procured onegram packets of brown sugar and ganja wrapped in coarse paper through these connections and gave them to Baby Her task was to sell these illicit drugs on the streets for two rupees each With the dream to exit Siddharth Nagar and support her two sons Baby decided to never look backBabyrsquos tryst with KalokheOne day her shanty was raided by burglars as Sidharth Nagar was not a safe place to reside in Though she did not lose much after the breakin she still reached out to cops at the Worli Police Station Amongst them was Dharamraj Baburao Kalokhe ndash a cop who began to visit Babyrsquos house multiple times under the pretext of investigating the burglaryThe meetings turned into a love affair which concluded in a marriage in 1996 Despite Kalokhe being married along with two sons he left his family and married Baby Like his colleagues he was also aware of Babyrsquos nature of work Yet he decided to commit to her and aid her illegal business Over the following years he assisted Baby in many ways Dropping consignments to other cities inspecting and carefully hiding the drug contraband getting anticipatory bail for his wife and protecting her from incriminationTracing Babyrsquos early historyBorn in 1963 Baby grew up in a modest Mazgaonkar family with five older brothers She earned her nickname Baby as she was the youngest offspring Her father Pandurang worked as a taxi driver while her mother Kesharbai looked after their home They resided at Worli Koliwada ndash a fishing village in central Mumbai as one of the nonKoli familiesFifty years ago the Worli Koliwada lacked basic civic amenities No public toilets were available in the neighbourhood which forced residents to use the nearby seashore for their sanitary needs Consequently living at Koliwada became a frightening experience for women In one such instance Babyrsquos sisterinlaw was harassed which provoked a violent retaliation by Babys brothersThe brawl culminated in the assailants death which led to the imprisonment of Vasant Kisan and Shatrughna Babyrsquos elder brothers The series of tragic events filled Baby with hatred against law enforcement authorities who also lost her parents shortlyFollowing a short period of care from relatives in their hometown the two youngest siblings Arjun and Baby came back to Worli Koliwada Arjun secured employment at a garage while Baby took on roles such as selling milk working as a housemaid and assisting at a fish stallWhen she reached the age of 15 she entered into marriage with Ramesh Patankar a taxi driver who battled alcoholism To support her family Baby worked tirelessly in textile mills where her duties included the inspection and repair of cloth Despite the strenuous nature of her job she willingly continued and later became unemployed when the mill operations shut down in 1982They say poverty is a vice In Babyrsquos case the saying echoes her life which got entangled in Mumbairsquos drug scene Out of desperation to survive she did not sit down to distinguish right from wrong From milk to mephedrone ndash each item became a step towards wealth accumulation which she always had to fight for as a young woman