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bullets and profanities. In the ensuing shootout, the police used 450 rounds of ammunition. Every other wall on all sides of the building was rained heavily with bullets. At the end, all seven gangsters were killed, with the last gangster being shot down at the terrace of Swati building. Although post-shootout media coverage made out Dolas to be the main shooter, according to Khan, in reality it was Buwa. Khan stated that Dolas just kept hurling abuses from inside the building, while the real bullets were being pumped by Buwa:
143:
124:
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405:, was shot in the chest twice, puncturing his lungs. Qavi was shot in the elbow. Buwa's brazen attack was soon followed by the others. The ground-floor apartment had two doors, one opening into the compound and the other to the building's staircase. While the police officers came out from the front door, the gangsters escaped into the interiors using the stairs.
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The shootout resulted in a great deal of controversy for the ATS. The ATS was suspected of staging a fake encounter and subsequently dragged to court. A magisterial inquiry was ordered as questions were raised on the use of 450 rounds of ammunition and the need for a “daylight” encounter. The ATS was
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was also extremely vocal in criticising the police operation as a "fake encounter". According to Chotta Rajan, the encounter was planned by his former boss Dawood
Ibrahim, when they were allies, as part of a campaign to downsize Rajan's gang and curtail his power. He further claimed that the ground
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at the main gate, but did not arrest him for fear of surprising the gangsters hidden inside the building. On the other hand, Rajwani did not recognise the police officers, who were in their plain clothes, and escaped without any incident. The ATS officers Sunil
Deshmukh, Z. M. Gharal and Qavi along
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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 Ibrahim, who was gunning for the Joshi gang after the killing of his pointman Satish Raje. Dolas and Buwa were a
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Khan used the loudspeakers to request residents to go to the kitchen and lie on the floor, to avoid accidentally getting hit by a stray bullet. He also asked the gangsters to surrender, even when half the force was surrounding the building. The gangsters refused to surrender and responded with
447:. The court even dubbed it "vexatious litigation". He also justified the shootout, by stating that it had a demoralising effect on the Bombay underworld. In the aftermath of the Lokhandwala encounter, three dreaded shooters fled the city. While Subash Sawant and Subash Singh Thakur fled to
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Khan dismissed the allegations as ridiculous, claiming that Dolas and the others were in no mood to surrender. He asserted that the operation was videographed and it was conducted in full view of the public. He further stated that a
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Gopal
Rajwani, the gangster who had inadvertently managed to avoid being caught in the crossfire, returned to Ulhasnagar and joined politics as a Shiv Sena member in 1995. He was eventually shot dead by four of rival mobster
340:. They also conducted extortion activities on Ibrahim's behalf. However, they were also fugitives on the run, with ongoing arrest warrants for them. Dolas had in fact escaped from prison a few years prior to the shootout.
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also charged with walking away with Rs 7 million which belonged to Dolas. Petitions alleging corruption were also filed against Khan. However, the trial ended with Khan and other involving ATS officers acquittal.
367:, a posh upper middle class residential area. The informer reported that they were armed and were waiting for a few builders who would be coming in the evening. The apartment in which they were hiding belonged to
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level co-ordination for the operation was conducted by a Dawood
Ibrahim subordinate, Samir Shah. He stated that Dolas had expressed his willingness to surrender, but the police insisted on eliminating him.
537:, although when questioned, Gupta refused to pass any comment. The film makers were unable to film the shootout scene in the real Swati building, a set worth 5 million was constructed in
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protested his alleged partisan attitude towards their workers in the riots. In 1995, when the BJP-Shiv Sena government came to power in
Maharashtra, Khan's promotion to the rank of
413:"Dolas was just reckless and foul mouthed. Buwa was cold-blooded. Unlike Dolas: nothing could divert Buwa's attention when his fingers were on the trigger. He was a mentor to
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as Maya's mother
Ratnaprabha Dolas. The movie also featured the real-life former ACP Aftab Ahmed Khan in a cameo role as his superior, the police commissioner Krishnamurthy.
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474:. Frustrated at this insignificant posting, Khan retired and set up a security agency in 1996, which his son now runs. He also became a politician and joined the
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What happened next is subject to dispute and controversy. According to the official police version, Officer M. I. Qavi was the first to go there. Qavi spotted
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newspaper that the encounter was fake, while the film sought to depict it as an actual event. He stated that he would take it to the film's producer
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After Joshi's murder, Dolas later broke out of the Ashok Joshi gang, and formed his own gang. He then convinced notorious Joshi gang sharpshooter
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received a tip-off from a police informer that Dolas and his gang were hiding in the A wing, flats no. 002 and 003 in the Swati building at the
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and associate of
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with a handful of police officers were the first to walk into the ground-floor apartment where seven of them were watching
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which consisted of seven buildings and roads and trees and made it look exactly like how Swati building was in 1991.
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391:. When they burst into the apartment, six of the gangsters, including Dolas, raised their arms in surprise.
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288:, Ibrahim controlled underworld activities through his various lieutenants. Among the most prominent was
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While the
Lokhandwala shootout made Khan famous, he later faced criticism about the way he handled the
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on grounds that it grossly distorted the facts. In a May 2007 interview, he told the
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assault rifle, opened fire on the officers. Officer Gharal, who was not wearing
268:. It was crossed with an "X" after his death, signifying that he was eliminated.
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300:. Dolas had got his start running several successful extortion rackets for the
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claiming that the encounter was stage-managed was dismissed by the
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captured the entire shootout live in 1991. According to the former
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feared duo and soon began a steady rise within the ranks of the
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619:"450 rounds were fired...like bullets were doing the talking"
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The film was however, criticised by underworld crime boss
225:(ATS) led by the then Additional Commissioner of Police,
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The infamous shootout was immortalised in the 2007 film
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23:
308:. On 3 December 1988, Joshi was killed at the
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470:(ADGP) was stalled and he was transferred to
379:, while the other two cordoned off the spot.
296:who was known more popularly by his nickname
8:
741:Meet the man behind the Lokhandwala shootout
229:. The four-hour-long shootout was termed as
16:Anti-gangster police action in Mumbai, India
20:
205:that occurred on 16 November 1991 at the
835: – 25 May 2007, IndiaFM News Bureau
736:
734:
650:
648:
646:
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348:News and current affairs video magazine
826:When Bachchans and Viveik came together
657:""Mr Controversy" seeks a clean ticket"
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760:from the original on 20 December 2021
566:"Chhota Rajan takes potshots at film"
468:Additional Director General of Police
7:
655:S. Hussain Zaidi (5 February 1998).
779:Sena leader Gopal Rajwani shot dead
852:Indian news report on the shootout
800:"Preview: Shootout At Lokhandwala"
707:J. Dey, Mumbai (11 January 2004).
276:was under the firm control of the
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903:1991 Lokhandwala Complex shootout
354:Additional Commissioner of Police
213:, between seven gangsters led by
199:1991 Lokhandwala Complex shootout
24:1991 Lokhandwala Complex shootout
913:History of Mumbai (1947–present)
141:
122:
95:
788: – 25 January 2000, Rediff
167:80 to 100 policemen (including
1:
948:November 1991 events in India
709:"Stealth attack in September"
686:How Dawood killed Ashok Joshi
625:. 20 May 2007. Archived from
574:. 21 May 2007. Archived from
458:under his jurisdiction. The
451:, Anil Parab fled to Dubai.
430:The fugitive underworld don
938:1991 mass shootings in Asia
754:"Actual Shootout News Reel"
743: – 23 May 2007, Rediff
371:, a fugitive gangster from
70:All the gangsters shot dead
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493:
441:public interest litigation
184:24 police officers wounded
508:as ACP Aftab Ahmed Khan,
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107:
78:
28:
831:23 December 2010 at the
691:22 December 2010 at the
397:, who was armed with an
304:, Ashok Joshi's gang at
235:first daylight encounter
933:Mass shootings in India
879:19.198239°N 72.873702°E
798:Vijay (14 April 2007).
502:Shootout at Lokhandwala
496:Shootout at Lokhandwala
272:In the late 1980s, the
460:Bharatiya Janata Party
419:
269:
108:Commanders and leaders
928:1991 murders in India
328:at Ibrahim's orders.
256:
179:Casualties and losses
68:Bombay Police victory
884:19.198239; 72.873702
784:9 September 2012 at
756:. 16 November 1991.
361:Anti-Terrorism Squad
223:Anti-Terrorism Squad
89:Anti-Terrorism Squad
943:Encounters in India
875: /
719:on 23 December 2010
365:Lokhandwala Complex
302:criminal-politician
284:. From his base in
217:and members of the
207:Lokhandwala Complex
46:Lokhandwala Complex
578:on 22 October 2012
571:The Times of India
516:as Dilip Buwa and
490:In popular culture
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445:Bombay High Court
274:Bombay Underworld
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535:Sanjay Gupta
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525:Chotta Rajan
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518:Amrita Singh
510:Vivek Oberoi
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484:Pappu Kalani
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456:Bombay riots
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432:Chotta Rajan
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415:Chhota Rajan
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326:Chhota Rajan
320:by a 15-man
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191:All 7 killed
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79:Belligerents
18:
882: /
856:youtube.com
506:Sanjay Dutt
504:, starring
403:body armour
257:Mugshot of
174:7 gangsters
54:Maharashtra
897:Categories
870:72°52′25″E
867:19°11′54″N
849:(in Hindi)
545:References
476:Janata Dal
395:Dilip Buwa
373:Ulhasnagar
357:A. A. Khan
333:Dilip Buwa
316:road near
306:Kanjurmarg
266:Maya Dolas
243:Dilip Buwa
239:Maya Dolas
227:A. A. Khan
215:Maya Dolas
188:Gangsters:
148:Dilip Buwa
129:Maya Dolas
117:A. A. Khan
918:D-Company
539:Film City
464:Shiv Sena
422:Aftermath
350:Newstrack
338:D-Company
322:hit squad
278:D-Company
259:D-Company
203:gunbattle
171:officers)
102:D-Company
829:Archived
782:Archived
758:Archived
689:Archived
462:and the
344:Shootout
294:gangster
262:gangster
221:and the
162:Strength
41:Location
324:led by
249:Prelude
154:†
135:†
810:24 May
723:23 May
671:23 May
633:1 June
582:23 May
472:Nagpur
359:, the
318:Panvel
310:Bombay
211:Mumbai
201:was a
150:
131:
65:Result
50:Bombay
854:, on
449:Nepal
399:AK-47
286:Dubai
231:India
91:(ATS)
58:India
812:2007
766:2010
725:2011
673:2007
635:2009
584:2007
314:Pune
298:Maya
292:, a
241:and
233:'s "
197:The
33:Date
245:.
169:ATS
114:ACP
899::
733:^
711:.
699:^
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643:^
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592:^
568:.
553:^
417:."
389:TV
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