Sabir Kaskar

Sabir Kaskar was a central figure in the Mumbai underworld, known primarily as the brother of the notorious Dawood Ibrahim. His life, as depicted in the narrative, was intertwined with the violent rise of the Ibrahim brothers and the shifting alliances that defined the city's criminal underworld. His death, a brutal murder, serves as a stark reminder of the mortal stakes of the gang wars that engulfed Mumbai, and his final resting place in Bada Qabrastan places him among the other 'kings' of the city's underbelly who met similar fates.

Identity and Background

Sabir Kaskar was one of the Ibrahim brothers, a duo that included his more famous sibling, Dawood. In the narrative's account of the underworld's power structure, Sabir and Dawood are described as 'the then underdogs' in the late 1980s, a period when they were locked in a bitter and bloody conflict with the Pathan gang. This characterization places Sabir within a specific moment of transition, where the future leaders of the D-Company were still fighting to establish their dominance. His identity is thus defined by his familial connection to Dawood and his shared role in the brothers' collective ambition, a partnership that would eventually reshape the entire landscape of organized crime in Mumbai.

Role in the Gang War and the Baitul Suroor Peace Pact

Sabir's most significant documented action occurs during the intense gang war between the Ibrahim brothers and the Pathan gang. The incessant bloodshed had become a major concern for the older generation of gangsters, Haji Mastan and Karim Lala. It was Jenabai Daaruwali who proposed a solution: to unite the warring factions into a single force. This required calling a truce, a prospect that Haji Mastan found nearly impossible to imagine, as bringing the two groups into one room seemed an unlikely scenario. The meeting was eventually held, and Sabir's presence was a source of particular anxiety for Jenabai. She was more concerned about Sabir and Dawood than the other attendees, and to suppress their volatility, she specifically asked Haji Mastan to invite their father, Ibrahim Kaskar, to the meeting. The gathering included the Pathan chief Karim Lala and his gang, alongside Dawood, Sabir, and their father, all sitting in cold silence. Jenabai's influence was such that she was the only woman present, and she sat beside Dawood, holding his clenched fist to convey the importance of maintaining his cool. This scene establishes Sabir as a volatile and dangerous force, whose restraint was considered crucial to the success of the peace pact, a pact that would come to be known as the 1980 Baitul Suroor peace pact.

Death and Legacy

The narrative confirms Sabir Kaskar's death, noting that he was laid to rest in Bada Qabrastan, a sprawling 7.5-acre cemetery near Marine Lines station. The graveyard is described as the final resting place for several men who ruled Mumbai's underbelly, including Karim Lala, Ibrahim Dada, and Rahim Khan. The author's visit to the graveyard, prompted by the death anniversary of Haji Mastan, leads to a reflection on mortality and the leveling power of death. A man in the graveyard remarks that the qabrastan is the 'real underworld,' where all the kings and queens eventually come to rest. Sabir's burial there cements his status as one of these fallen kings, his story a testament to the violent ends that awaited even the most powerful figures in the Mumbai underworld. His death, while not detailed in the provided evidence, is a pivotal event that underscores the brutal consequences of the life he led, a life of constant conflict and shifting allegiances.