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gang. After the Allahabadi gang bowed out of petty crime, the new incumbent, Ibrahim Dada managed to fend off other gangs on the rise by the sheer force of his charisma. Rival gangs like Kanpuri, Jaunpuri, and Rampuri had few educated young people in their ranks whereas Ibrahim Dada was the first matriculate amongst them, a well-dressed gangster who could speak English.
    Popular gangster lore has it that when Ibrahim Dada had gone to the American Consulate at Peddar Road to meet a friend at the consulate he met the receptionist, Maria. Fair Maria could not resist the raw appeal of the tall, robust, and brawny Ibrahim. It was love at first sight. Soon Maria began visiting Ibrahim at his residence on Sankli Street.
    When Bada Johnny’s spies informed him of the budding love affair between Maria and Ibrahim, Johnny Dada was furious. He accosted Ibrahim once and warned him, ‘ Tum ek Christian ladki ko lekar kyun bahar jate ho [why do you go out with a Christian girl]? Stop seeing that girl at once.’ Ibrahim remained unruffled and in reply began singing the popular Bollywood song from the blockbuster of those days, Dilip Kumar-Madhubala starrer Mughal-e-Azam , Jab pyar kiya to darna kya, pyar kiya koi chori nahin ki, ghut-ghut kar yon marna kya [Why fear when you’re in love. You have loved and not committed a crime, so why hide?]). It left Johnny fuming and helpless. He tried to scare Maria off by invoking religious sentiments, but to no avail.
    Soon Ibrahim and Maria were married and the girl embraced Islam. This enraged Johnny Dada, who saw their union and subsequent conversion as a personal humiliation. This behaviour eventually led to his downfall because until then, Mumbai’s crime lords had never allowed communal feelings to interfere with business.
    Muslim boys began deserting Johnny’s gang and joined ranks with Ibrahim’s, weakening the older gang’s muscle power and clout. Johnny’s reputation took another beating when his agents and pimps, some of whom were Muslim, refused to pay up his share of their spoils to Johnny and sought refuge, instead, with Ibrahim Dada.
    Johnny decided to take matters in his own hands. One day when Ibrahim was alone, he cornered him with a group of his hoodlums near Bombay Central station, and assaulted him with lathis, iron rods, and knives. Ibrahim was severely battered at first but soon summoned his reserves of strength and rallied, attacking Johnny and his men. Though they all escaped eventually, some of them were injured grievously.
    Ibrahim decided to teach Johnny a lesson. He cornered Johnny in the Kamathipura area one day and challenged him to a one-on-one dual. Ibrahim beat his adversary mercilessly, humiliating him, and leaving him on the verge of death. His retaliation was finally effected: Johnny then disappeared from the scene.
    Both his brothers also met an equally tragic end. Chhota Johnny used to terrorise the shopkeepers and loot their cash boxes at the end of the day. The hapless shopkeepers, mere traders by profession, could not summon enough strength or resources to retaliate. But, the story goes, a Bohra shopkeeper decided to take care of Chhota Johnny at last, even if it meant losing his life in the process. The shopkeeper devised a crude, makeshift weapon by fitting nails on the end of a stick. Chhota Johnny had become so careless in his confidence that unlike others of his ilk he did not even carry any weapons on his person, and when he staggered in, inebriated, the shopkeeper assaulted him mercilessly. He continued to hit him until Chhota Johnny collapsed on the ground in a pool of blood; witnesses recall that he continued to hit him long after he was dead. Fellow traders were surprised; Bohras are Gujarati Muslims, essentially a trader community found in all corners of the world plying their trade peacefully, simple businessmen who rarely turn violent. But something in the man had broken, it was evident. The shopkeeper was booked for manslaughter but the