Fazal-ur-Rehman

Fazal-ur-Rehman, known by the alias Fazloo, appears in the book's chronicle of Mumbai's underworld as a kidnapper whose significance derives less from his own deeds than from his entanglement with one of the era's most notorious female criminals. He is introduced as a figure in the orbit of Archana Sharma, the woman who rose to lead a kidnapping gang and became known as the jewel in Babloo Srivastav's crown. His brief affair with Archana, conducted while she was in a relationship with Babloo, places him within a triangle of criminal jealousy and violence that reaches far beyond his own actions.

Identity and Criminal Association

Fazal-ur-Rehman is identified in the narrative primarily through his alias, Fazloo, and his profession as a kidnapper. He is not a solitary operator but the leader of his own gang, referred to in the text as the Fazal-ur-Rehman gang. His criminal identity is defined by his connection to Archana Sharma, a woman who had learned the kidnapping trade under the mentorship of Babloo Srivastav and had become notorious for her ability to plan operations while never participating in the actual act of violence. Fazal's relationship with Archana places him within this circle of professional criminals who targeted industrialists and businessmen for ransom, a world where personal loyalties and professional ambitions were dangerously intertwined.

The Murder of Sagar Ladkat

The most concrete criminal act attributed to Fazal-ur-Rehman is the murder of Sagar Ladkat, a Pune businessman and petrol pump owner. According to police accounts, on the night of 22 May 1998, Ladkat was returning to his house in Koregaon Park from his Somwar Peth petrol pump when members of the Fazal-ur-Rehman gang intercepted his car. They whisked him away to Kondhwa, where he was hacked to death, and his mutilated body was abandoned in his car. Investigations later revealed that Archana Sharma had masterminded the crime, although it remained unconfirmed why the victim was killed. The narrative thus presents Fazal as the executor of a plan conceived by Archana, a division of labor that mirrors her established strategy of choosing targets and planning operations while leaving the actual execution to others. The murder's motive remains obscure, a detail the book leaves unresolved, but the act itself cements Fazal's role as a violent instrument within Archana's criminal designs.

Rivalry with Babloo Srivastav

Fazal's affair with Archana places him in direct conflict with Babloo Srivastav, the gangster who regarded Archana as his possession. Babloo was so possessive of her that he could not tolerate anyone else getting close to her, and Fazal's brief relationship with her made him a target of this jealousy. The rivalry extended beyond personal animosity into the realm of political violence. Former Nepal minister Mirza Dilshad Beg of the Rashtriya Prajatantra Party paid a huge price for his alleged closeness to Archana. After Babloo was deported from Nepal, Beg apparently became very close to Archana, which infuriated the gangster. Babloo suspected that the minister had not helped prevent his deportation because he wanted Archana all to himself. In June 1998, Beg was killed by Chhota Rajan gangsters while he was on his way home after visiting his wife in Kathmandu. While Fazal is not directly named as the killer of Beg, the narrative places him within the same web of jealousy and suspicion that surrounded Archana, suggesting that any man who drew close to her risked becoming a casualty of Babloo's wrath.

Narrative Role and Significance

Fazal-ur-Rehman functions in the book as a secondary but revealing figure within the larger story of women in the Mumbai underworld. His affair with Archana and his role in the Ladkat murder illustrate how women like Archana could manipulate and direct male criminals, using relationships as instruments of control. The book's account of Fazal is filtered through the lens of Archana's story, and his significance lies in what his actions reveal about her methods and the dangerous world she inhabited. His gang's violence, carried out at her direction, demonstrates the reach of her criminal authority, while the jealousy he provoked in Babloo underscores the precarious position of any woman who moved between powerful men. Fazal himself remains a shadowy figure, known more by his alias and his deeds than by any developed personality, a testament to the book's focus on the women who dominated these narratives.