How underworld don Ejaz Lakdawala was nabbed in Patna

Ever since the Mumbai Crime Branch Police arrested Sonia Lakdawala, the daughter of underworld don and former aide of Dawood Ibrahim, Ejaz Lakdawala, the top cops in Mumbai were sure they could now apprehend the fugitive who has been giving the police the slip since 2008.

Ejaz had escaped from a Mumbai hospital and has stayed in Dubai and Malaysia where survived an attack on him in Bangkok in 2003. Thereafter, he's spent one year in a jail in Canada in 2004 and was eventually arrested from a less suspected place Patna on January 8, 2020.

The person who helped Ejaz’s arrest was his own daughter Sonia, who, like him, had turned into a self-styled underworld don and was reportedly extorting money from builders in Mumbai.

The Mumbai police flew down to Bihar looking for the underworld don as he was said to be on way to Bihar from Nepal by road.

“Ejaz’s daughter, Sonia, who was arrested from Mumbai airport on December 29 for travelling with a fake passport, landed into further trouble when a builder lodged an FIR against her on January 6 complaining that she was extorting money from him. On consistent interrogation, Sonia spilled the beans about the whereabouts of her fugitive father Ejaz,” said a senior police officer, on strict condition of anonymity.

By January 7, a four-member Mumbai crime branch police team, including a DCP, was in Patna. The Mumbai cops sought the help of Bihar’s Special Task Force (STF). One of the most efficient STF cops, Ramakant, who has a history of nabbing such fugitives in the past and is a President medal awardee, was assigned the job to assist Mumbai cops.

The STF and Mumbai cops got the information that Ejaz was on his way to Patna from Pokhra (a picturesque spot in Nepal) and would enter Bihar through Raxaul border after passing through Birganj (Nepal).

Once Ejaz’s SUV entered Bihar and was on way to Patna, the STF cops (in plain clothes) were deployed near Mithapur Bus Stand in Jakkanpur area with his photographs. Sources said the cops had prior information that he could escape to Darbhanga or Madhubani from the State Capital. “Once the Scorpio, carrying Ejaz, entered towards Mithapur Bus Stand, the joint police team of Mumbai and Bihar apprehended him. It was a prize catch. Before anyone could get an inkling, the cops flew back to Mumbai along with the underworld don.

“The four-member Mumbai Crime Branch Police team, which came here, took along Ejaz with them to Mumbai,” said Senior SP (SSP) of Patna, Upendra Kumar Sharma here on Thursday.