Book on efforts of Mumbai police to combat underworld dons launched

The book The Brahmastra Unleashed gives a true account of the turf war unleashed by underworld dons like Dawood Ibrahim, Chota Rajan on the Mumbai streets in the 1990s and 2000s, and how the Mumbai police reined them back with the passing of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act.

The author and former Mumbai Police Commissioner D. Sivanandhan said the book, released more than 25 years after the Mumbai blasts, is dedicated to the work carried out by the Mumbai police in controlling organised crime by passing the act and through various investigative processes.

The book was launched at a function organised by Sundaram Natarajan Blind Free India Foundation, in association with Chennai International Centre, in the city on Sunday.

R.K. Raghavan, former Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation, said, “The book, written in an unpretentious language, is about the study of crime, both past and present, to help save ourselves from anti-social elements.”

He said though crime was a universal phenomenon, this book traced the links of the underworld criminals with real estate, film production, and other business activities. He said the book would help educate the future generation of investigative police officers on how to combat underworld criminals.

Yashovardhan Azad, former Intelligence Bureau officer from Mumbai, who worked with Mr. Sivanandhan to battle the underworld criminals, appreciated him for taking up the case to the High Court and Supreme Court for overturning the judgment of Judge Agyar, who termed the shooting of the criminals as fake encounters.

Dr. Mohan Rajan, vice- president of All India Ophthalmological Society, also spoke on the occasion.