Lokhandwala Complex

Lokhandwala Complex, Andheri, also known as Lokhandwala, is a large residential and commercial suburb in Mumbai, India. It is approximately 5 km from Andheri station. The name Lokhandwala comes from the name of the developer with the construction firm being Lokhandwala Constructions Pvt. Ltd. It was the primary developer of the suburb of Versova, which was previously basically a marshland. There is a famous Shree Swami Samartha Temple near the Complex entrance.

History

When Siraj Lokhandwala, proprietor of Lokhandwala Constructions, spotted the vast marshland in the area of Versova in 1978 he decided to purchase the area for development. He was discouraged by every broker in Mumbai from buying the land, simply because they felt that no one would wish to live at a comparative distance from the old centre of Mumbai. Today, however, Lokhandwala Complex is one of the most eagerly aspired to and most desirable suburbs of Mumbai.

A veritable who's who of Bollywood stars live in Lokhandwala, which has become home to many movie stars over the last twenty years. The list includes some of the finest actors, film directors, film writers,producers and most of the people who are working in Indian Film and Television Industry. Many of the NRIs Non-Resident Indians also have second homes here. Lokhandwala has many shopping malls, large cinemas, clubs, parks, fitness centres, small to very large luxurious apartments and it is well connected to the rest of the city with excellent public transport facilities. It is 10 km from airport, 5 km from Andheri Station. Trains from Andheri Station to Churchgate reach in 33 minutes.

Shootout at Lokhandwala

Shootout at Lokhandwala is a 2007 Indian crime film directed by Apoorva Lakhia. It is based upon the 1991 Lokhandwala Complex shootout, a real-life gun battle between gangsters and Mumbai Police.

Overview

A.A. Khan, head of the ATS, attacked the Lokhandwala Complex on 16 November 1991, with a force of around 400 armed policemen. Dreaded gangster Maya Dolas was hiding in the complex. The leading protagonists in the film have slightly different names than their real-life counterparts and the film caption is "based on true rumors." The film was released on 25 May 2007.

Plot

The film opens with shots of brooms and dustpans cleaning dried blood and cartridge casings in and around Swati building at the Lokhandwala Complex. TVN reporter Meeta Matu (Diya Mirza) reports that some 3000 rounds of ammunition were discharged by a large police squad at a previously peaceful residential area.

The film moves to the offices of former chief justice turned private prosecutor Dhingra (Amitabh Bachchan) where he interviews the three leading members of the Mumbai Encounter Squad: Additional Commissioner of Police Shamsher S. Khan (Addl.CP S.S. Khan) (referring to A. A. Khan, played by Sanjay Dutt), Inspector Kaviraj Patil (Sunil Shetty) and Police constable Javed Sheikh (Arbaaz Khan). The main film timeline is the extended interview of the three officers by Dhingra; as the officers answer Dhingra's questions, the film flashes back to show the incidents.

Maya Dolas

Maya Dolas (Marathi: माया डोळस), (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 with the then Additional Police Commissioner of Mumbai, Aftab Ahmed Khan, at the age of 25.

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.

Biography

Dolas was born to Vithobha 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 Indian National Congress criminal - politician Ashok Joshi's gang at Kanjur village, which was also affiliated with the Byculla Company.

Education

Dolas completed his education at ITI Mumbai.

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. 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.

Aftab Ahmed Khan

Aftab Ahmed Khan is a former Indian Police Service officer, turned politician from Mumbai, India, noted for his encounter killings of gangsters from the Mumbai organized crime syndicates.

An officer of the Indian Police Service, Khan was a Deputy Inspector General of Police in Maharashtra state in the 1980s. He shot into fame with the shootout at the Lokhandwala Complex, Andheri, in which seven gangsters including Maya Dolas and Dilip Buwa were killed in 1991.

In the mid-1990s, Khan sought to build on his media image by joining politics. Initially expressing interest in joining the Samajwadi Party, he eventually went with the Janata Dal, with whom he stood elections in the Mumbai North-west constituency in 1998.

Currently he helps run a private security agency that he set up in 1996 along with his son.

In popular culture

In 2007, director Apoorva Lakhia directed the Bollywood crime film Shootout at Lokhandwala, which was based on the 1991 Lokhandwala Complex shootout led by Aftab Ahmed Khan. Khan was also portrayed in the film as Additional Police Commissioner Shamsher Khan played by Sanjay Dutt. Also, Aftab Ahmed Khan played a supporting role in the film himself, as a police commissioner.

Aftab Ahmed (disambiguation)

Aftab Ahmed may also refer to several cricketers of varying nationalities:

Sports

Cricketers