Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Spotless under the spotlightA railway porter tirelessly sweeps the floor at a warehouse near Ram Mandir railway stationFrom the files of Rakesh Maria IPSThis Friday November 28 will mark the release of When It All Began Penguin the second book by Rakesh Maria the 1981batch IPS officer retired on January 31 2017 as Director General of Police Commandant General of Home Guards and Director of Civil Defence Maharashtra As the former top cop who served in Mumbai in different capacities including Police Commissioner Maria is known for his deep involvement in taking down Mumbairsquos organised crime groups as well as solving some of the most highprofile cases that shook the cityThis title provides a gripping account of the rise of the cityrsquos most infamous criminals in the early 1980s depicting the operations and lives of known smugglersturnedmafia dons running parallel syndicates from the Mumbai docks mdash Karim Lala and Haji Mastan as well as the ascent of Dawood Ibrahim and his criminal empireRakesh Maria visits the site of the first crime he investigated in Padmanagar Zopadpatti in Mankhurd FILE PICRANE ASHISHWhile Let Me Say It Now Mariarsquos first book dealt with his stint as Mumbairsquos Police Commissioner this latest offering is an indepth look at the cityrsquos violent gang wars during his tenure in Mumbai as Deputy Commissioner of Police It follows how petty thieves and smugglers turned into dreaded mafia bosses Drawing on decades of firsthand experiences Maria relates his insider knowledge of a world he tried to dismantle underlining the human motives for every crime Mariarsquos career is largely characterised by emphasising the importance of human intelligence in the solving of crimes He repeatedly tells young officers that technology can be helpful but it will never replace good instincts and proper observationldquoDetection isnrsquot just a skill Itrsquos a mindsetrdquo he told this diarist during a previous interview One of his most memorable lessons came from his first crime detection in the city soon after his first posting as DCP Zone IV a case involving a woman and her paramour from Padmanagar Zopadpatti in Mankhurd who hacked Alam Qureshi 45 a fitter at the docks to death dismembered his body and dumped it at a dumping ground in Deonar in May 1984 Decades later a similar case involving Maria Susairaj who reported a missing person Neeraj Grover at the Malad police station on May 9 2008 would come to light Mariarsquos instinct told him she was behind the crime ldquoIn every case everyone is a suspectrdquo he says With this release Mariarsquos legacy as one of Mumbairsquos most perceptive and determined police officers continuesBig little splashDombivlibased Aanvi Suvarna below celebrated her 10th birthday on November 20 with a gruelling 17km swim from Atal Setu to the Gateway of India She clocked two hours and 44 minutes against all odds ldquoHer training was tough but she was focused on putting the spotlight on openwater swimming in the city Shersquos now preparing for a 30km opensea swimming recordrdquo Vilas Mane her coach revealed to usLaburnum loveA Laburnum tree in Kharghar right Dharmendra as botanist Professor Tripathi in Chupke Chupke PICS COURTESYV SHUBHALAXMI YoutubeFans will remember actor Dharmendrarsquos quirky botanist character Professor Tripathi from Chupke Chupke 1975 But did you know that offscreen the late icon had a soft spot for the Laburnum Amaltas tree ldquoIn 2014 Hema Malini consulted the Bombay Natural History Society to obtain a large Laburnum tree sapling We obliged and reached their doorstepWhen we sat down with Dharam ji later he revealed that his village in Ludhiana had a similar old tree that he had to leave behind when he moved to Mumbai decades ago He forever longed to have the same Amaltas near himrdquo shared former BNHS CEC head Dr V Shubhalaxmi This discovery got us humming another classic Veeru tune Yeh dosti hum nahi todengeA few good men in KoldongriFrom left Parth Nandvikar Rugved Jadhav and Ravindra Jadhav hand over the wallet to Shekhar Harad PICS COURTESYRAVINDRA JADHAVThe discovery of a lost wallet set off quite the detective drama in Andheri on November 19 Seventeenyearold Parth Nandvikar and 13yearold Rugved Jadhav spotted a wallet with Rs 10000 in cash and personal documents near an ATM in Koldongri Rugvedrsquos father Ravindra told us ldquoWe pulled all strings including a moviestyle Facebook hunt for the ownerWe finally approached the Sahar RTO with the documents in the wallet and tracked the owner Shekhar Harad On November 23 we finally handed the wallet overrdquo Every penny earned in Mumbai comes at the cost of blood sweat and tears Jadhav senior reminded us ldquoHarad offered us a token amount as appreciation but we politely declined it It was never oursrdquo he added Perhaps there really are some things money canrsquot buy