Maya Dolas

Maya Dolas (15 October 1966 – 16 November 1991), born Mahindra Dolas, was an Indian underworld gangster who used to work for the D-Company don, Dawood Ibrahim. He was killed in an encounter at the 1991 Lokhandwala Complex shootout by the then Additional Police Commissioner of Mumbai, Aftab Ahmed Khan, at the age of 25.[1]

Mahendra 'Maya' Dolas
Mugshot of Maya Dolas. It was crossed with an "X" after his death, signifying that he was eliminated.
Born15 October 1966
Pratiksha Nagar, Mumbai, Maharashtra
Died16 November 1991 (aged 25)
Lokhandwala Complex, Andheri
Cause of deathPolice encounter
NationalityIndian
Occupationgangster, mobster, extortion

Dolas' story was made into a 2007 movie titled Shootout at Lokhandwala, with Vivek Oberoi playing the role of Maya, and Amrita Singh acting as his mother Ratnaprabha Dolas.[2]

Biography

Dolas was born to Vithoba and Ratnaprabha Dolas. He was one of their six children. Dolas joined the Ashok Joshi gang in 1980 and rose quickly through the ranks in the outfit. He ran several successful extortion rackets for the criminal - politician Ashok Joshi's gang at Kanjur village which was also affiliated with the Byculla Company. [3]

Education

Dolas completed his education at ITI Mumbai in Mumbai, India.

Shootout at Lokhandwala

The Lokhandwala Complex is an upper end middle-class housing area in Andheri Lokhandwala Swati A wing Flat no 002 and 003, Mumbai, where Shiv Sena criminal-politician Gopal Rajwani had purchased a flat for mega-mobster Dawood Ibrahim.[4] In 1991, Dawood henchmen Dolas and Dilip Buwa, along with four others, were in this apartment when they were surrounded by the Mumbai Police led by Aftab Ahmed Khan; it was later alleged that Khan had been tipped off by Dawood who wanted the police to kill them.[5]

The ensuing four-hour shootout, much of it publicised live on news channels, made Dolas infamous, and the police officer Khan a household name. After the encounter, it was alleged that the anti-terrorist squad (ATS) which had participated in the encounter had made off with Rs. 70 lakh (Rs. 70,00,000) cash which was with Dolas.[5] A number of inquiries conducted by the Mumbai police failed to turn up any concrete evidence.

Maya Dolas was just reckless and foul mouthed. Dilip Buwa was cold blooded. Unlike Dolas, nothing could divert Buwa’s attention when his fingers were on the trigger. He was a mentor to Chhota Rajan. Post shootout media coverage made out Dolas to be the big gun. “It was far from the truth. Dolas just kept hurling abuses from inside the building, while there being pumped by Buwa. I knew nothing about Maya Dolas, except his reputation. Buwa was something else. He was Dawood Ibrahim’s best shooter and his most efficient killer. Till date, there has been no second. [6]

— Aftab Ahmed Khan, Officer in charge of the Anti-Terrorist Squad at the time of Lokhandwala Shootout

Dolas' mother Ratnaprabha had moved court to ban the movie Shootout at Lokhandwala stating that the movie presents her son falsely. For example, the movie shows that he had killed his abusive father at age nine, whereas his father outlived Dolas and died only in 1997.[7] She also claimed that he was an ITI passout (Industrial Training Institute ).[8] Taking note of the fact that the movie also portrays Ratnaprabha as encouraging the criminal tendencies in her son, the suit wanted the producer to re-do the film. Chhota Rajan also objected to the film, saying that it "grossly distorts the facts".[9] In response, A A Khan, the cop who led up front the team which gunned down Dolas, rubbished Rajan's claim, saying that the operation was videographed and it was conducted in full view of the public.

The directors claim that the movie is highly fictionalised, although it uses the real names, and the movie opens with an apology to the real characters. A Mumbai sessions court refused to stay the film release based on the case in May 2012.

References
  1. "'450 rounds were fired…like bullets were doing the talking'". Indian Express. 20 May 2007. Archived from the original on 3 June 2007. Retrieved 1 June 2007.
  2. Vijay (14 April 2007). "Preview: Shootout At Lokhandwala". Archived from the original on 29 May 2007. Retrieved 24 May 2007.
  3. J. Dey, Mumbai. "Stealth attack in September". Indian Express. Archived from the original on 23 December 2010. Retrieved 23 May 2007.
  4. Jake Khan, Ulhasnagar (25 January 2000). "Sena leader Gopal Rajwani shot dead". India Abroad. Ulhasnagar. Archived from the original on 9 September 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2007.
  5. S Hussain Zaidi (5 February 1998). ""Mr Controversy" seeks a clean ticket". Indian Express. Archived from the original on 4 June 2007. Retrieved 23 May 2007.
  6. 450 rounds were fired…like bullets were doing the talking - The Indian Express, Mumbai NewsLine (19 May 2007) Archived 3 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  7. "Court rejects gangster's mother's plea to stay film release". Cybernoon. 22 May 2007. Archived from the original on 3 June 2007. Retrieved 23 May 2007.
  8. "HC defers plea requesting Shootout at Lokhandwala stay". Express Network Private Ltd. 27 May 2007. Retrieved 1 June 2007.
  9. "Chhota Rajan takes potshots at film". The Times of India. 21 May 2007. Retrieved 23 May 2007.

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Further reading
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