Godfathers of Crime

Main Shakeel Bhai bol raha hoon. Farmaiyen, Sheelaji! Among the first female journalists in India to investigate crime and the underworld Sheela Raval has had an eventful three-decade-long career in print media and television that has seen her track Indias most notorious criminals across different parts of the globe. Always hot on the trail of a story, Raval broke the news about Chhota Rajan surviving a brutal assassination attempt in Bangkok in 2000, attended Dawood Ibrahims daughters wedding in Dubai and is the only person to have interviewed Samira Jumani, noted gangster Abu Salems first wife, after Salems arrest and extradition.Now, in a candid memoir of fearless reportage, Raval recounts her interactions with the much-feared dons, and the revelations they brought forth about the intricate workings of organized crime within Indian borders and beyond. Ravals bold writing gives fresh and so-far unpublished insight into the D Companys evolution as a criminal organization with transnational influence and connections with foreign governments; the much-talked-about split between Dawood and Chhota Rajan; a oncepromising cricketer who became one of Mumbais most-feared dons; the Abu SalemMonica Bedi affair; and the circumstances that led her to appear as a state witness in the high-profile case against film producer Bharat Shah and Chhota Shakeel.Chilling and revelatory, Ravals stories provide a fascinating glimpse into the minds of organized criminals who have long haunted Indias security forces. Godfathers of Crime is a chronicle of men who have lived outside the boundaries of the law for most of their lives, told through the personal experiences of an intrepid journalist.